Marsh Family Blog

Video of Carson in Portugal

2009-08-01T20:24:00.000-04:00

Venha o que vier 07-13-2009

2009-07-13T07:25:00.000-04:00

Two years ago, I was asked to devote everything that I had, or in better words, everything that I was, to this mission. At the time, I was not at all prepared to do so. I had just finished my first year of schooling. I had just left behind my family, friends and all of the things on which I spent all of my time. I even left a special friend behind. I didn’t want to let any of those things go, even though I had recently obtained my own knowledge and testimony that this church is the true Church of God. I actually did have the desire to serve Jesus Christ, my Lord. Yet my mind was not focused and my heart was split; I had not left everything behind.

Two months later, with an unfortunately low understanding of the Portuguese language, I stepped out into the field of my new home, Portugal. In my first interview with my mission president, President Henry, he told me that my mission would be a humbling experience for me. And looking back, boy did I need the humbling. I was ready to prove something to someone, although who that someone is, I’m not quite sure; perhaps it was I myself, or perhaps it was God. And thus it began. 22 months have passed today since I began work in my first area. Those of your who have read my weekly emails know of my joys and successes as well as my hardships and frustrations. It has flown by “as if it were a dream.”

One year ago I made a promise to give “all that I am” to this work. I think that it was at that time that I finally started to understand why I was here, in deed instead of only in word. Ever since I arrived in Portugal, I have had a dream of seeing the Gospel spread over all of Portugal. I wanted it to fill this country. And the longer I spent in the country, the more fulfilled my blessing became which told me that I would love the people whom I served.

And so now I am here today. Those things that had occupied my thoughts so much at the beginning do not impede my ability to preach this word. The Spirit of God and this work, which work is the same dream that I have had from the beginning, only so much less selfish, have filled me and made me realize that I love it. I have had success stories on my mission. I have had great disappointments. But I believe that I can say to you all that I gave it my all. Even when my all was more clouded than it is today by selfishness and ambition, it was my all, and I gave that. My testimony of the reality of the Son of God and His restored Church has grown to the point that what I had before seems small and insignificant. I have finally learned, in some small way, how to put my trust in God.

This is not over. Missionary work has become so much a part of my life, and working at it has made me a better person than I could have been doing anything else. I invite all people to come and learn of this Gospel.

How will you be able to tell if my mission was a successful one? How can any of you who have looked on from the outside in know if what I say about my mission is true? Most of you who are reading these words have met me before and seen my face. So, if you can see the countenance of Jesus more fully in the man that comes back than the one who came, then you can say that my mission was a success.

Don’t ever lose hope.

The future is as bright as your faith.

Love,
-Élder Carson Marsh

Imperfect Faith 07-06-2009

2009-07-06T18:30:00.001-04:00

Well, it looks like I'll need to be getting a gmail account when I get back! Everybody's doing it...!

The Zone of Madeira had an awesome week this week! I was incredibly happy for them all. There are five companionships in our zone (small, I know) which are Funchal 1, Funchal 2, Câmara de Lobos, Caniço and Machico. If you recall, I was in Caniço before I came to Funchal 1. Funchal 1 and 2 are always doing at least reasonably well, but the other areas are hard because everyone comes to Funchal to work so the other areas are almost empty come the weekday afternoons. Any meetings we have are also generally in Funchal, so it can get difficult for them. Well, last week we had a Zone Meeting (which we had already mentioned before I think) about giving your whole self to the work and about making the most of your time. I guess that must have had an effect because we saw some great things happen out of our zone this week, and it was great to think that perhaps something that we did or said may have been a part of it. Caniço had their first baptism in a year or so: a 25 year old way cool girl named Cátia. She was way happy afterwards. It's awesome to see God's love be poured on someone for her correct decisions, for it brings us closer to Him. Machico, in turn, marked a baptism of a Brasilian guy named Erikson this week! That should be way awesome! And then Câmara de Lobos got like 5 new investigators, and I think Funchal 2 had 9 or something, and they both taught a lot this week. Everyone is doing very well and I hope to see continued fire and progress in all areas. It's great to be here on Madeira!

Things are starting to come together. Word has spread that the next Sunday will be my last, so many people have promised me that they will come to church. Marlene promised to come and bring her boyfriend; an older man named Jaime who works at a store in Funchal promised to come, and a doorman of a restaurant (maybe they call them greeters... I don't remember anymore!) named Afonso is on holiday and said that he would come. So we are in the makings for a great next week here in Funchal 1! Getting people to church has been Madeira's weak point for some time now. But now that we are starting to work better with our members, things should start solidifying... if we keep it up! Seriously, Funchal 1 is an AWESOME area. It could be just like any area in the States or in Brazil, if we start organizing well and working our hardest. The members are going to have to decide if this growth is what they really want, and moreover, if it is worth fighting for. I certainly believe that it is. We saw a little miracle yesterday in that Sérgio received the Aaronic Priesthood! We didn't think that we were going to be a part of it, but then we were upstairs for a meeting and President Ventura told me that I should do the setting apart! It was cool to be a part of that, and I know that Sérgio is worthy of the call.

Bruno and Joana are our marked baptisms right now. They haven't come to church since I think my first week here with Elder Nieveen. They keep saying that they will come and then not showing up. I don't really know what the problem is, but we have some awesome members who should be able to help us out. We have seen that our time with members has not been wasted as many of them are taking initiative to make things happen. Joel, who happens to be Joana's uncle and has helped us a lot in teaching them, has been bringing a friend to church named Francisco. Well finally we did what we should have done a long time ago and marked an appointment with him. Well, it was probably a good thing that we waited because he has been liking church more and more and been seeing the difference that it makes, so this should be an optimal time to go see him. I know that most people won't understand this analogy, but for you nerds out there, here goes: A lot of wards feel like those single player video games, where you have allies, but they don't actually do anything and you are expected to do all of the work. They are there and occasionally they will do something, but you kind of have to force it to happen. This branch is not like that at all. They will fellowship, they will volunteer themselves occasionally, and they are instrumental in the success that Funchal 1 has seen. It's really great to witness.

So when I did my personal study this morning I felt (for whatever reason, but we know that whatever reason is usually an important one) like I should read something in Jesus the Christ. So I started flipping around to places that I thought interesting and I finally came across the part in the Biblical accounts where Jesus heals the woman who touches His raiment. Elder Talmage states simply that the woman was not going about it the right way; touching His clothes was a nice act of faith but would not truly make her be healed without the Lord's consent or acknowledgement. But then in an act of compassion the Lord turned to her and told her that because of her faith (which was previously termed as imperfect) had made her whole, and THAT was the moment in which she was permenantly healed as opposed to temporarily feeling good for having acted on her faith in Christ.

Jesus continues to help us in this same way. Over the past few days I have incorrectly assumed that I would have all the success that I wanted because it was in my final hours and so I somehow deserved more success. But of course, all in the Lord's time. I wondered if my faith were somehow incomplete or unable to produce the kind of miracles that I know that God wants to have happen here. But as I read this I think I started to understand. Jesus Christ is still going to help you if you don't exercise your faith exactly in the right way. Sure, it would be better if so done, but He will still have compassion on you. He will lead you by the hand and show you the miracles, even if you don't do it right. You just have to do it the best you can.

Venha o que vier, e desfrute!

Elder Carson Marsh

Looking to Others 06-29-2009

2009-06-29T07:59:00.002-04:00

So I have decided that I am going to start writing my big email first from now on. I think that sometimes I am so pressed for time that I don't properly transmit to all of you the wonderful Spirit that is present with us here. Don't think about the number, don't think about the number, I keep telling myself. But when I really lose myself, whether I can think of it or not it doesn't matter.

The work is going along quite well this week on Madeira. The entire zone is feeling the power of the Lord. We had a zone meeting this last week in which we spoke of giving our best effort, or in other words, in giving 100% of ourselves. King Benjamin talks about this and how it leaves us being unprofitable servants. While this is true, the way for us to qualify for the blessings of the Lord is by doing exactly this. Now, 100% does not equal perfection, for it is not this that the Lord requires. It's kind of as if you were invited to a barbeque and all that you were required to bring is the cups. You bring the cups and the meal is there waiting for you. All you have to do is bring the cups.

Machico has a marked baptism! That is way cool for them because they haven't had a baptism in like three years, and this may be just what the missionaries and the ward need to get the fire going again. We are way excited for them.

Here in Funchal, we are in over our heads. There is so much work to do! God sent me here because He knew that it would make me too busy to be able to be trunky. Our recent convert battle is a constant struggle. Yesterday was a big storm day, so almost no one came to church. Sérgio didn't come and he felt really bad about it afterwards. I'm not too worried about it, though. He will be getting the priesthood next week! As I prepare to say goodbye to people, I think of their great potential. As Elder Nieveen has recently pointed out to me (I guess I haven't changed that much after all...) I'm a big worrier. I want some kind of assurance that everything is going to be okay with these wonderful people and with this awesome branch. This is my favorite place of my mission, by the way... I just decided that it may even be better than beautiful Viana! That's saying something. I have a dream of seeing the gospel fill this place. I believe that it can happen and I know that the Lord would love to be able to pour His Spirit upon all of His children here, as he did with the men to whom Peter preached (Acts 2) or to whom King Benjamin preached (Mosiah 4-5) but He will do it when they are ready.

I have been having a bit of trouble focusing sometimes. I wonder at times why this happens. But I think that I have discovered the reason. For example, this morning I did not want to do my studies. I know that this temptation is going to creep into me after the mission. I also know that it affects people here on the mission. The Lord is giving me these experiences so that a) I will be prepared for after-mission life and b) so that like Jesus, I can feel a little bit of that compassion for others that only comes from walking in their shoes. This is a divine concept. When you have a difficulty that you have never had before, think about this: The Lord may be giving this to you so that you can be a support for another who is passing through something with which you have never dealt before. So when new temptations afflict you, look around so that you can see how the Lord may be sending you to another.

In Funchal 1, the work is on fire as usual. We had a great lesson with two members, Domingos and Jenaína, and they afterwards gave us a reference who will soon be a new investigator. Marlene and Janete are also doing really well. Every time I go to teach Marlene, I feel the Spirit and a sense of gratitude for being able to teach her and for being a missionary. She and her boyfriend should be coming to church next Sunday. Janete has a three-year-old son named Ângelo who normally makes a big fuss when we try to teach her, but this time he was quiet the whole time.
A little side note about this story: Coming into my mission, I had always heard about missionaries who were so upset when they taught their last 1st discussion because they loved doing it so much. Well I have very rarely taught the 1st lesson through to investigators and so I didn't really know what that was like. I figured that our mission was an exception to that.

Anyways, so Janete basically called us out and asked us what was so special about our church, or why it was worth investigating. Well, that's exactly what the first lesson is about. So we taught it to her. Elder Nieveen is really good at teaching the Great Apostasy. As I told about Joseph Smith's first vision, I felt the Spirit, and I saw its effects in her. Afterwards, she told us that she hadn't yet prayed but now she definitely felt reason to do so. She also offered to meet with us twice a week, which is going to be an inconvenience to her because of her busy work schedule but she feels that it is worth it. Miracles are certainly happening here!

Just live it and love it...

Elder Marsh

The Invisible Hand 06-22-2009

2009-06-22T08:24:00.000-04:00

Whoa.

Yesterday I just saw President Henry and Sister Henry for the last time. They go home on July 2nd, and they will not be coming out to Madeira anymore until then. That was a surreal experience. President gave me my exit interview, though I will have another one given to me by the new president.

Anyways, so reflecting on that and on the little time that I have left, I started to get really nostalgic, as I am prone to do. I was really upset that my mission was ending so soon and that I wasn't going to have the opportunity to be a missionary anymore. So in response to my whining and complaining, Elder Nieveen said the following: (he is a stud)

(By the way, this is a quote from Elder Spiel. Remember him? See transfers 2-4 from when I was in his district. He's another mission stud)

"Well, the mission is really supposed to be like a hamster wheel. You run and you run and you run, and then one day out of nowhere a hand comes out and snatches you and puts you out into the world, and you have no idea what happened."

Haha, funny little idea, huh? Basically, what he was trying to say is that you shouldn't spend time worrying about when that "invisible hand" will come take you out, as missionaries are so prone to do. Some anxiously await its arrival; others dread its coming. But both types of missionaries miss out on the experiences afforded them in these last weeks of their mission experience.

So I don't want to do that anymore. Full steam ahead, I say!

So, in short, we have a lot going on, still with the recent converts. All of them came to church yesterday except for Filipe ( :( ) and some of the Silva family that was sick. The good thing is that Élvio Silva is going to be a lot more available to meet with us now, so he will get the spiritual growth that he will so desperately need in these next months. He is a stud, and he will be able to do a great work for many in this place.

In zone conference Friday we talked about giving it your all. That's a promise that I made almost a year ago, to give the mission all that I had. I have been doing, human weaknesses included, a fairly good job at putting the world aside and TRYING (key word) to give everything that I have and am to God. But the battle is not over. It still continues onward. Yet with even the endeavors that I make to give everything to God, I cannot succeed without His help.

If you replace the letters in the alphabet with the value associated with the order of the letters (aka a = 1, b = 2, z = 26, and so on) you get the following:

Knowledge = 96 %
Hard Work = 98 %
Attitude = 100%
Love of God = 101%

So while Knowledge and Hard work can get you close, and attitude can take you there, it takes the love of God to get you farther than you had even imagined.

I pray that God may give me the strength to be the missionary that He had always wanted me to be.

The work is going great, and continues onward. Let us all press on, and hearken to President Hinckley's advice, "Brothers and Sisters, it's all over but the work."

Venha o que vier,

Elder Carson Marsh

Doing It All 06-15-2009

2009-06-15T07:03:00.001-04:00

Okay, so here we go. God is great. It is interesting to see just how fully He tends to bless His children when they will just make a little offering unto Him. He has put me in just the place in which I need to be to end my mission the way that I want to. I am completely swamped with things to do. When the Sisters left, they left with them a lot of work to cover. Turns out they were doing a pretty good job; who knew?

The Lyman couple also left for the continent, as we call it. They left us with a present of 20 references of people that they had visited. So, long story short, Elder Nieveen and I have packed weeks ahead of us. I wouldn't have it any other way.
A great part of our work consists of taking care of the many recent converts that we have here. Of just the ones that I know, there are 13 recent converts in Funchal 1, although I know that there are a few more that I have never met. The 13 have never all been in church in the same week. If we could make that happen once before I head out, I would love it. In addition, we have two marked baptisms that the sisters left us named Bruno and Joana, an awesome single mother progressing investigator named Janete, a lady that works at a store we visit named Marilene with whom we had a way spiritual first lesson, and many other investigators and members with whom to work. Add to that our duties as Zone Leaders (we have an awesome zone. They really are all the Lord's army) and we are swamped, like there is almost no free time for us, which allows me to forget the continually marching countdown breathing down my neck.

Obviously, I can't handle all of this by myself. Even with a companion, we do not have the capacity, weak vessels as we are, of doing it all. 2 Cor 12:10 is my message for today. As we recognize our weaknesses and rely on the Lord, that is when we are really strong. That is how we become the Lord's studs. And the army is marching forward.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Marsh

And then there were 42. 06-02-2009

2009-06-02T08:24:00.001-04:00

No, I'm not counting how many days I have left. I have more than 42, anyways, fools. But 42 is the number of days in a transfer period. And I am about to be down to one.
This last transfer came and went way too fast. Yet at the end of all of it, some great miracles happened.
I don't know if you remember Sérgio and the Abreu family. We have spent nearly all of our concentration on them this transfer. Sérgio reminds me a good deal of my father in that he is around the same age, he's way smart and a hard worker. The only difference is that for whatever reason, he can't hold a solid job. Madeira doesn't know what it's missing. Anyways, last Sunday he was baptized. Then we had to book it, figuratively speaking, to prepare the Abreu family this week for baptism. Luciano, the father, was already a member, whereas the rest of the family was not. Iraida was the name of the mother, and their three kids are Jessi (actually her name is Yecsymar, but everyone calls her Jessi) Tobias (14) and Jaques (10, pronounced Jacks) Jessi is about to have a baby as well in a month or two, and I hope that I'm still here to see it. Anyways, they were giving doubts up the wazoo (Wow. I'm out of style.) especially Tobias. He questions EVERYTHING. (Sound like anyone you know?) Whether God exists, how to know the truth, why Adam and Eve lost against Satan, anything! Anyways, so the ward got involved, thankfully. The Relief Society (bless their hearts) planned to throw a baby shower for Jessi! She loved it. After that moment, their hearts were changed. They probably already knew that what we were saying was true, but now they had reason to believe that this truth would actually help THEM solve their REAL life's problems.

The baptism went great. Tobias and Jaques loved it especially. Luciano baptized Jessi, but they didn't want him to baptize them all for whatever reason, so Elder Smith (who had been on division with us once) baptized Iraida, I baptized Tobias, and Elder Tovar baptized Jaques. Hey, they wanted it that way! Tobias and Jaques afterwards told us that they felt really light afterwards and wanted to know if they could do it again. Luciano said that he hadn't felt too much at his own baptism but that seeing his family get baptized and participating in it left a spiritual impact on him that he would not soon forget. It was a miracle. Two days later, they (including Sérgio) were all confirmed. Of course, they had ME confirm Jessi, whose real name is Yecsymar Yamalyt Correa Abreu. Yeah, I had fun with that one!

Elder Nieveen is my new companion for this last transfer. Elder Tidwell is the new Assistant, just like I always said that he eventually would be. That will be fun, but I will miss him. Elder Nieveen is a great missionary and always ready to work, so I am excited for my last 42 adventures while serving as a missionary. There's only one way to finish, and that is strong.

How strong are you?
I'm TOO strong!

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

turnaround is sometimes God's way 05-25-2009

2009-05-25T08:21:00.001-04:00

For the great majority of this week, I was having a HORRIBLE week. Nothing was happening, appointments were falling through, people were unreceptive. So you know the people with whom we have been working, right? Sérgio and the Abreu family. Well Sérgio fell off of the face of the planet. He was completely unreachable, missed his appointments with us, the whole nine yards. And the Abreu family was being really hard to teach, with the exception of Jessi, who had previously actually been one of the least receptive. But thanks to the ward, she felt really accepted by them and so wanted to know more.

Anyways, so Elder Tovar and I decided on Friday to wait in front of Sérgio's house to see if he would come out for work. After an hour or so we decided to write a note and leave at his house, and turns out he had already left but his father answered (who is apparently not receptive at all) and was friendly enough and took the card. So I'm still feeling pretty down and I read a scripture in 2 Nephi 33:3-4. I love the scriptures. They are so helpful. Nephi talks about how his prayers are basically not working to change these people; they're still being wicked and not doing the right thing. But he knows that the Lord WILL bless his people because of Nephi's prayers. I took comfort in this because I, too, had felt like my prayers about these people were not being answered. Well, on Saturday Jessi then told us that we needed to help her brothers find baptismal clothing. We had thought that they didn't want to be baptized with her and her mother. She replied, "Um, of course we're all getting baptized together. What did you think?" That should go down this Friday.

But we still felt pretty bad about Sérgio because his date was for yesterday. But we decided to leave it in the Lord's hands. I was way doubtful. So when Sérgio was the first person that we saw when we walked up the stairs to church, we were ecstatic. Turns out he had lost his job and his phone and so had difficulty meeting with us cuz he was trying to deal with that. He said that of course he still wanted to be baptized, and he was yesterday afternoon. I'll share pictures as soon as I get a cable. The church is true, and the Lord WILL answer prayers, even if we don't see it at the time. In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Élder Carson Marsh

A New Adventure 05-19-2009

2009-05-19T08:56:00.002-04:00

So before I start out I just have to make a public apology to Jamie, and also to anyone else to whom I have not been prompt in writing. I guess that Matt Wise and Daniel Quick should also be included in that list, as well as others I'm sure. I haven't been good at writing this past while, for the Office and Madeira offer so many options during P-day. But I want to congratulate Jamie on her mission call and say that if you can get me your address, I WILL write something to you. Sorry!

Anyways, so this week has been great and terrible, with ups and downs. It's probably going to continue to be like this, and even more so until the end. I could stop it, but I won't, because, well I'll explain.

First off, the main events of the week. We remarked Sérgio for baptism for this Sunday, and although he has had a lot of obstacles in his path, he still really wants to be baptized. We had an appointment yesterday, to which he did not show up, nor did he come to church this sunday. He said that it was because of the stress of having two jobs right now but that he is planning on quitting one of them at the end of this month so that he can stabilize his life more.

Then we have Familia Abreu. They have not been paying very good attention to us lately. So we finally decided to confront them about it, which was hard because we didn't want to hear from them that they didn't agree with what we were teaching, you know? But we are not here to baptize, but rather to convert, and baptizing someone who does not believe is not a good idea. So we started asking questions, and listening. It got to the point at one point when Elder Tovar told me that he was thinking of just dropping them on the spot. But then we got to the heart of it, and we believe that we are definitely going to be able to help them. It may take a bit more time than we would have liked, but we are going to be able to show them how to find happiness through the gospel, not through the temporary methods that the world offers.

Anyways, so what I'm trying to say is that there were a lot of ups and downs to our week. Família Abreu came to conference (yeah, it takes a while for the island to get conference) but the kids, understandably, were not all too excited to sit still for four hours straight. (Well, okay there was a 10 mintue break, but still) We contacted a bunch of new people and none of them are in our area. One of the areas in the island marks two baptisms and then one of the missionaries there gets an infection. There seem to be a never-ending supply of ups and downs, backs and forths.

So, back to my point. Elder Tovar and I are pretty close to the end of our missions. When things go wrong, it would be easy to throw our hands in the air and say "Well, I've got 9 weeks left. I don't want to have to deal with this anymore." And things would stabilize. We would have no heartbreaks because nothing would happen to give us hope. We would not experience disappointments because no one would ever tell us no. And sometimes that simple fact is enough to overtake us, if only for an instant. But we do not let it hang onto us.

I have asked myself multiple times this week what would happen if Sérgio stopped trying and Família Abreu stopped caring. We'd be at ground zero. It would be easy to say "I've fought a good fight for ALMOST two years. I'm done." We are not going to say that. We are going to fight THE good fight, which is the same fight that Christ fought, which requires that we love even unto the end. If all else fails, we can make each coming day a new adventure. If we REALLY believe in Christ, we can make each day memorable, a true adventure with Christ by our side. So no matter what happens, this is what we shall do.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.

Bittersweet 05-11-2009

2009-05-11T07:49:00.000-04:00

Hey.

I am happy. I am happy and I am excited to work for this last time in the Lord's vineyard (see the last verses of Jacob 5) But I will admit, I was not happy on Saturday. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Well, that's not true. It actually started out really well. Elder Tovar and I planned out a really cool Zone Conference in which we focused on the importance of visions in missionary work, and in everything we do. You have to know where you want to go before you can get there. I would invite all to do so with their own lives. If you feel that you don't have time to do so, do so when you go to church this Sunday. It is the house of the Lord and He will inspire you. We had sweet examples and we decided that we really need to concentrate on involving members in our work. And on that Saturday we learned how true that statement was. We went for a lesson with Família Abreu and they weren't paying attention, for the Élderes just don't command respect like an adult member does. Then we walked across the city, for there were no buses, to make it in time to help Sérgio get ready for his baptism at 6. He said he would be there at 5:10. Well, I have not seen Sérgio since Friday. Do the math. That felt horrible, but probably the worst was that we, the Elders, were the only ones in contact with him this whole time. He had no member friends, and so no wonder it was hard for him. We had had lessons with members, yes, but they didn't ever try to involve him outside of the lessons that we had.
Anyways, after that, I read a scripture. I will do my best to translate it from Portuguese, but you should probably just read it yourself: D&C 29:39

And it is necessary that the devil tempteth the children of men, or they could not be their own agents; for, if they never tasted the bitter, they could not know the sweet.

As I reflect on my mission, I have had many bitter moments, but I have also had many sweet moments. And I know that those sweet moments have come directly from my God Himself. He teaches me that I must be humble and rely on Him. I was comforted by this, and I believe that everything will work out. After all, I'm still praying.

Venha o que vier,
Élder Carson Marsh

Anchors 04-27-09

2009-04-27T14:33:00.001-04:00

Well, here I am in Funchal. I'm a Zone Leader now, but the biggest thing that this changes is that I have more people about which to worry and for whom to pray. It's a good thing.
Elder Tovar is my penúltimo (2nd to last, yeah they actually have a word for it) companion. He is way cool; he's been teaching me the things that I should have learned all along, like finding my way around places and cooking more than like 5 things. He basically does this by leaving me on my own and not allowing me to use others as a crutch. It's annoying sometimes, but I know that he's doing it with good intentions, so it's all good. He's kind of quiet, but that's okay. Leaves more time for me to converse with others and with the Lord.

Before I forget, this SHOULD be my last address:
Élder Carson Marsh, yo!
Rua de Aspirante Mota Freitas
Nº 8 Bloco B Ed. São Tiago 4AD
9060-197
MADEIRA, PORTUGAL

We have a way awesome area here. Three marked baptisms! One's name is Sérgio, who just showed up to the chapel one day to be taught. The only thing stopping him from being baptized this Saturday was that he didn't show up to church on Sunday, which is probably related to his newfound job, and that the ward didn't announce the baptism. But I think that everything should work out. He is way humble and accepts what we teach him.
The other two are part of a family of a stud recent convert named Luciano. His wife is Iraida and his daughter is Jessi (not really but no one can pronounce her name so she goes be Jessi) and they are both marked for later in the transfer. They aren't completely ready yet but they will be. Jessi's two brothers should be marked as well; we will work on that. The good thing about this area is that there is so much to do that you always feel productive. We are working with members so that they will invite people to be taught, and everything! This area is how it should be.
We taught a less active returned missionary yestearday named Marco. He's a way nice guy but he doesn't want to go to church anymore. He said that he wasn't sure that he still knew that it was all true, which is astonishing because he was preaching it for two years. So this was my response, which is also my thought to all of you. Because as astonishing as it is, all of us sometimes doubt. Our testimonies get covered by the things of this world, and we forget the great peace and warmth that we once felt. I want to start by sharing a quote (I think that I can do so directly) by Henry B. Eyring: "Your happiness is directly linked to the happiness of those you serve." So we should always be trying to help those who have for whatever reason forgotten the truth that they knew.

Ether 12:4 talks about the fact that our belief in God becomes an anchor to our soul. It does so as it allows us to stay firm despite what the world throws at us. But what happens if the anchor fails- if something from beneath picks it up? The ship is no longer safe. It may not have been the anchor's fault, for perhaps something attacked it, or the crew allowed it to rust and crumble until it was weak. So sometimes we need multiple anchors, although if we kept a perfect knowledge, one would be enough. Here are some of my anchors:

1. My knowledge of the Book of Mormon's truthfulness given to me by the power of the Holy Ghost.
2. The testimony shared to me by my mother and father
3. My life, for I have felt the best about myself and who I am as I follow the gospel's precepts
4. Cátia (from Viana) and others as they have also learned the truth for themselves
5. The spirit that I feel as I bear testimony

There are others, but I'm out of time.

Love to all,
Carson, Élder of Israel

My Last Stand 04-21-09

2009-04-21T09:29:00.001-04:00

This Saturday, I was "rocked by transfers". I think that's how Elder White the Younger calls it. It wasn't altogether unexpected that I would get transferred, but all the same it shocked me in its own way. I am going to the Funchal 1st ward, which is on the other side of the island, and I will in all likelihood finish my mission there. I will be a zone leader there, and the zone in this case is the entire island of Madeira. I have many mixed feelings about it. I am going to miss Caniço on the one hand but I am excited to get away from the crazy amount of travel that is required there. I am also excited to serve in this calling because I have a great respect for every missionary on this island and it will be great to be able to serve them in this way.

Before I continue on with the news I want to give all who read this some advice: Never seek for power in the Church! About a week before transfers it is customary in my mission for everyone to start talking about what is going to happen, especially among the younger missionaries. This time I was determined not to be a part of all of that, but as I knew that it was a possibility that I would be moving areas this transfer I still did think about it, way more than was necessary. The more time you spend focused on "Am I good enough for this calling?" Or "Where am I going next?" the less time you are focused on the work. And then transfers come just as they would if you didn't spend all of your time on it and within hours it's old news. And then you regret all the time wasted worrying about what would happen. Don't do it. God is proud of each son or daughter of His who is willing to serve, and it doesn't matter where you happen to be serving. Got it? Good.

Okay, so that being said, I will be probably ending my mission in this next area. One of my biggest regrets about Caniço is that I never got to know the members very well, and I plan to change that about Funchal. It is unfortunate that I will only be there for two transfers because it makes continuity difficult; I have to learn everything that Elder Tovar did over the past three transfers, and then I have one transfer to pass that all on to the next guy. But I am excited for the challenge.

This is my last stand. When I think on my mission immediately after I go home, I will think on my last area and the things that happen there. I may not be able to promise that there will be baptisms there, but I can promise that I will serve Him with "all of [my] heart, might, mind and strength, that [I] may stand blameless before God at the last day." I can promise that I will have a good attitude and rely on Jesus Christ and His grace and Atonement for my strength as I strive to do my absolute best. This is my last stand, and it is Going to count. This is my last stand.

Before I close this week, I would like to talk to you all a little bit about hope. This transfer, Elder Tidwell and I worked our tails off. We fasted. We prayed. We wanted to have a baptism so badly while we were serving together. We didn't know how long we would be together, but we talked to a ton of people and got tons of new investigators. (and yes, Sister Goff, four teaching appointments in one round of tracting is a lot) We were pumped at all of the potential growth that was present there. But every time we were about to have an appointment with one of these people, he or she disappeared. They would stop answering phone calls, doorbell rings, whatever, and the people who seemed so excited to see us suddenly changed their minds. It was a very saddening experience, and it almost makes you want to give up. But then you remember hope. Hope allows us to go forward when you have absolutely no other reason to. It helps you to remember that we "can do all things in Christ Jesus who strengthens [us]" (Philippians 4:13). The Lord never promised us that we will have X number of baptisms, but He promised us that our knowledge and testimony of the Gospel will increase, and that we will make a difference in the area in which we proselyte. I feel like, for the most part, I did everything that I could. And thus I know that the Lord is pleased with me. And then, if it be His will, he can still bless me with miracles during the end of my time as a full-time missionary.

But, if not!!! (See Daniel 3:16-18) [Note--See below for those who don't have time to look up these scriptures]

I will still serve the Lord.

Venha o que vier, always.

-Élder Carson Marsh

3 ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Be the one that they will remember 04-13-09

2009-04-13T10:01:00.001-04:00

Caniço is a blessed land, I am convinced of it. The weather is beautiful, the people are for the most part friendly, and the blessings and teachings of the Lord are pouring down on our heads. Overall, I suppose that you could say that this wasn't the best of weeks missionary-work wise. In Catholicism they have Good Friday, right? Well, in Portugal it's called Santa Sexta-Feira, and it's almost as big as Easter Sunday itself. I don't really understand the significance of it, because I would think that if Jesus resurrected on Sunday, He would have died three days before on a Thursday. But I'm sure there's a good reason for it that someone will have to tell me later.
Anyways, so the week was full of holidays which equals I have no time to talk to You. Our investigators were all unavailable, and so we had to make things happen. Well, we worked really hard this week, and although it wasn't the best week, we did have a little miracle occur. We had been making contacts and talked to a lady whose name was Paula. We ended up with her phone number but she told us to call after Easter. Yet another one. Well we passed her again in the road. She was very friendly with us but again, before Easter. She told us she would call us (yeah right, like THAT ever happens) At least that's what I thought. Last night as we were getting ready for bed we get a phone call from an unknown number. When we call back, lo and behold Paula wants to talk to us. We will see her tomorrow.

It just goes to show that the Lord is the one who decides how the miracle will occur. It is rarely ever by our own making, for then we would be able to take the credit unto ourselves. Instead, the Lord requires our best effort, and then He shows us His way of saying that it was acceptable in His eyes.

So that was cool. I have four minutes left, so I may or may not have time to share this story, we'll see. So Caniço should be a really strong branch, but we never have a lot of people in church. We have a lot of members that come every other week or once a month rather than every week, and this makes it hard for them to truly progress in this gospel. I call them "unprogressing members" They remind me of Theoden King in Lord of the Rings, sitting there on his throne being fed lies and appearing older and older for not doing anything. But as he had the evil presence thrust out of him he fulfilled his full potential. Make the connection yourselves; I'm out of time.

Love you!

Elder Marsh

Wait for it, wait for it... 04-06-09

2009-04-06T08:45:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I have 7 minutes. Let's get going.

Elder Tidwell is a stud. He and I worked our tails off this week (you can check for yourselves, I don't have a tail anymore) and taught more other lessons than either of us had ever taught before. Our previous record was 52 each and we taught 55 different people the gospel this week. It was a great feeling, because we knew that we were fulfilling our purpose. Soon after I arrived here it became apparent that the things that had been going on here weren't anymore and that we needed to start over. So we did. Now in the past three weeks we have found something like 25 potential investigators. Elder Tidwell talks to like, everyone and it is great to see his diligence that he has developed over the past year. He says that every time he sees someone it is like a battle with Satan, and we have to win that battle by talking to the people.

With everything, we still don't have THAT much going on right now. It being the week before Easter, everyone pretty much says that we should call them after the holidays so that we can talk then. We have a really sweet investigator named Tiago (James in English, go figure) who is curious about our religion. He is an awesome guy who feeds us and is nice to us, but he is also a successful businessman and so he travels a lot, so he won't be back until later this week.

We are working hard under the pretense of "you work hard, God provides the miracle". We know that we can't do this by ourselves. We have worked our tails off (already said) and we haven't been able to MAKE something happen. That power lies with God. We are able to show God that we are willing to work and that we want to teach the gospel. Then it is up to His timing and our patience and diligence to make it happen. Alma 32:7 or 8 maybe. When Alma found all those humble Zoramites, he was already teaching some less progressing peoploe, but he recognized the miracle when he saw it and preached to the people that God had given him.

And we will do the same, when it comes.

Love to all,

Elder Marsh

The Spring 03-30-2009

2009-03-30T09:01:00.000-04:00

So, I used to run cross country for a few years back in high school. I thought that I would share an analogy with you.

At the beginning of the race, everyone sprints out almost 100%. This probably doesn't make any sense at first, but they do it because you need to obtain your spot and pace at the beginning of the race. If you don't, you will end up running behind a bunch of slow people without the possibility to pass them up. So after a little while you get into your rhythm and you start trucking along. You do this, passing here and getting passed there, until the finish is in sight. Well, obviously you are going to sprint again, and this because after you cross the finish line it doesn't matter how tired you are anymore so you just turn on the jets and pass as many people as you can.

Well, I now have officially 3 and a half months left, and this could very well be my last area. For those of you who have been reading faithfully all this time (Congratulations), you probably saw my initial sprint. Well, it's time to watch the final one. The part at which the analogy falls through is that cross country is an individual sport, whereas missionary work is a team sport. You have to first get on the same page with your companion, and then you can turn on the jets. So that's what we did. Elder Tidwell and I are really good friends. We have been since we first served together. But as with every new area, we had to work out a few adjustments at the beginning of our time together. Well, that's settled, and both of us are ready for that sprint (he only has 6 months left, too.)
We had an awesome week this week. Seven new investigators, and we have about 15 marked appointments for this next week. When I was on division with Elder de Andrade, a native Lisboan, we went to the house of a new investigator named Rosana. She wasn't there, but her sister Rosani was. Long story short, we had an amazing lesson, cleared up some misconceptions about the church, all felt the spirit really strongly, and made her really excited for our next appointment with her. We are going to try to mark for this next Tuesday and go back to teach.
In anything you do, finish well. Of the Saviour John wrote "he loved them until the end." (John 13:1) Love the people until the very end. When the end is in sight, it is not time to "slacken your strength" (see 2 Nephi 4) but rather to start the sprint. And that is exactly what I plan to do.

Love to all.

-Elder Carson Marsh

And add to temperance, patience 03-23-2009

2009-03-23T19:04:00.001-04:00

I have learned a lot this week, and I have loved it. For the first time in a while, I will be able to report on a lot of people instead of office chores. But I will get kicked off soon so we shall see. I am loving the island. It is a beautiful place everywhere, and I have been taking lots of pictures! Now I just have to find a way to get them onto a computer!

Elder Tidwell is awesome. We are having a lot of fun together. We are trying to take advantage of the time that we have left (as he is getting close to the end too) and make some memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. It was a little bit tricky at first. We had different ideas of what we wanted to do, and we both had to work it out. It took a lot of patience, but I have learned a lot about patience from this experience. And because of our patience and our willingness to yield to the other's ideas, we have become unified. And once we are unified and ready to work there is nothing that can stop us.

We are working with a lady named Donalda right now, whose two sons are recent converts to the church. We are trying to keep up contact with them because she works a lot and it is difficult to talk to her.

Elder Preston and I were on division this Wednesday (in my area... needless to say we got lost a lot) and we went knocking doors and found this guy who let us in so that we could show a short church film to him. He asked us all of the right questions, but he wouldn't let us come back! But we planted a seed. And that seed is going to grow, until we come back.

Lots of things are happening; I just wish I could write them all.

Carson

And It Came to Pass 03-16-2009

2009-03-16T14:15:00.001-04:00

I am fried right now. I am going to regret the oversight of not buying suntan lotion for a good week ahead of me. That being said, I am not going to regret the awesome hike that we just had, despite it's less-than-fortunate consequences. We went up to the highest point on Madeira Island for P-day today, called Pico Ruivo (Redhead Peak), although "went up" is probably not accurate. We were supposed to be on an hour hike from Santana up to the peak. But Elder Cordeiro thought that the stop that he wanted to get off at was closer. WRONG. We stopped off in the middle of nowhere and a nice man offered to drive us up to the top of a neighboring peak for 20 euros, a good 80 less than what getting a taxi to do the same would have cost us. From there, we had a 7ish kilometer hike from peak to peak. Sounds not so bad, right? But it was mountainous, and we ended up crossing two or three peaks to get there. Anyways, needless to say that by the time we got back down and assessed the damage, I was beet red. Arms, nose, and neck especially. I wouldn't do it again, but I am glad that I did it once. This too, shall pass. And thus start my adventures on Madeira Island.
I belong to a small branch called Caniço on the island, one of the two areas not in the city of Funchal. We had about 30ish members in church yesterday, and two investigators, although we aren't really teaching those people. They just come every once in a while, and I think they actually might live closer to Funchal. But hopefully we'll be able to keep contact with them so that they can continue to be watched over and cared for.
The island is beautiful. Every part of it is beautiful. There are cool places to see, the people are nice, although there are a lot of tourists-- apparently I may be teaching almost as much in English as I will in Portuguese! They have a funny accent, too; it seems like an Irish community came down here to the island and then decided to learn Portuguese. But I guess on that note, I wonder what I sound like to them. The island consists of a lot of little villages everywhere. Caniço itself seems like a little village. We also work in a neighboring city called Camacha, which may actually be the name of the whole province, I'm not sure. Anyways, because we do so many things here, we don't have a lot of time for different things like knocking doors and contacting people. We do have an investigator named Donalda with whom we are trying to work; she had a baptismal date, but we are going to have to move it. She has work a lot though, so she wasn't able to come to church and we weren't able to meet with her this last week.

So, here's my happy little lesson for the day. I have had a lot of experiences in the last week that have tried and tested my patience. It was hard for me to stay focused during my last couple of days in the office because when something came up, I just wanted to shirk it off as Elder Bowen's responsability and say that he should deal with it. But that is not the way. Up until Thursday, my call was still Financial Secretary and it was my duty to help and support Elder Bowen in every way possible, even when it was frustrating and I just wanted to take a break.
I don't know if you all know this about me, but I'm a very ambitious person who likes to be in charge. Well, the Lord is teaching me a different lesson this transfer. He decided to put Elder Tidwell as the District Leader, putting me as Junior Companion. I have not been a junior companion to someone since Elder Long, and with him I still basically decided what was going to happen. So, there are many things that are done in our area with which I do not agree. My gut reaction, which I followed the first couple of days, was to immediately come in and change them myself and get on the track on which we wanted to be. But that in turn just created a negative knee-jerk reaction. My duty here is to support. I am to, by persuasion, long-suffering, and love, slowly but surely make some changes that I feel need to be made. This is very hard to do because when you are following someone who practices habits that you do not like, it is easy to fall into those habits and lose the desire to change. Not to say, of course, that Elder Tidwell is not a good missionary; he is a great leader and teacher and I love him to death. It is going to be a lot of fun to serve with him for this next transfer. In fact, it does feel kind of nice to be able to relax for once. I don't always have to call the shots; in fact, it seems that Elder Tidwell is more than happy to do that, so my responsability is simply to do my best to add support to whatever that may be.
My theme today was And it came to Pass. You see this a lot in the scriptures as a synonym for "And the following happened:" However, I think that there is a reason for the word choice. Everything that happens in our lives comes in order to pass. It doesn't have the purpose of staying and being a burden on us always, for God and His Son will lift our burdens from us in time. The only things that stay with us are God, Jesus, and love. The rest comes to pass.

Venha o que vier,
Élder Carson Marsh

Thought I'd only use one of THESE to go home! 03-09-2009

2009-03-09T07:49:00.001-04:00

THESE = airplanes, by the way.

I have been transferred from the office. By this time on Thursday, I will be arriving in my new area, which is the following:

Élder Carson Marsh
Vareda da Pedra Mole Nº 54 Apt. 4222
9125-195 Caniço
MADEIRA

Yeah, I totally didn't see that one coming. I thought that I was too old to be going out to Madeira, but there I am. God knows exactly what I need, when I need it. And to put the cherry on top, I will be serving with Elder Tidwell again! Huzzah! God really has given me great things on my mission. Safe in the office during the rainy season, on a tropical island off the coast of Africa during the summertime!
The Lord also knows very well that I have loved the last four transfers in the office, and the last three transfers as district leader. They have stretched me and made me a much more prepared person to lead in His church. However, He also knows that I am now very ready to relax a bit and just work in the work itself, which I am now about to do. I don't have to worry about the extra responsabilities, and I know that this is what the Lord intends for me- to just work and make those memories of helping people that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I just want you all to know that God is a merciful God and that He works with us at our pace, in His own way, and if we are watching carefully, we will see His love for us.

Bruna's entire family came to church yesterday: father, mother, brother, and grandmother. While I won't be here to see her baptism, I am grateful for the chance that I had to work with her, and I will be able to see her and her family when I return to see Porto with my family.

Have a great week everyone!

Élder Carson Marsh

Making it to the next checkpoint 02-06-2009

2009-03-07T08:23:00.001-05:00

Hey gang.

So I didn't write yesterday. We got a call from President Henry telling us that at five we would need to drive to the airport to pick up Elder Pimentel from the airport. Elder Pimentel had been serving on Madeira until now, but his back problems forced him to seek treatment here on the continent. So President told him this morning to pack his bags and told us that we would need to be picking him up. Afterwards, we had to take him to the hospital to try to get an M.R.I for him, but they wouldn't give him the exam. So then we went home at like, 11:30- such is life.

Anyways, so he's with us now, and I'm in a triple. This marks my fourth companion who is a native Portuguese speaker, even though I will only be his companion for a week and a half. He's way cool and way humble despite the problems that he is experiencing.

Anyways, this week. I have been fighting myself a lot this week to continue to be an effective missionary despite the fact that I know that I am leaving. Elder Pimentel will probably stay here with Elder Bowen next transfer, so the only thing that is going to change is that I am going to leave. Add to that the fact that Elder Jacobe and Elder Smith will in all likelihood stay together, and I’m pretty much just chilling here waiting to leave. The biggest thing that I guess I still have that is keeping me going is the fact that I am still the district leader and am responsible for the missionary work that goes on around here, which over the past week has been somewhat lacking. I have told myself that I am going to be less of a dictator when it comes to these things and work more at the pace at which the other missionaries in the district feel is right. I think that I may have a greater capacity to push myself than other people, which is bad when I assume that everyone else can do with or without the same demands that I place on myself. Thus, as much as I don’t like it, sometimes I have to take a step back so that in the end, everyone will grow at the same rate. It’s a slow and hard-to-see process, so sometimes it’s frustrating to keep up. However, as the Lord counsels, leadership is best executed by persuasion, longsuffering, and love unfeigned, with pure knowledge. I need to develop those traits and use them at a constant rate instead of getting frustrated with them, myself and God when things don’t work out the way that we want them to.

I want you all to know that I know that God lives. I have felt His love, and I do know that when we are not happy, He is also unhappy. He cries with us and for us and wants us to be happy in all things. Fight the good fight, raise the bar, stand a little taller, make something of your life, live, die, and live again through Christ, Jesus, our Lord.

Venha o que vier,

Élder Carson Marsh

Unto the End 02-23-09

2009-02-23T18:36:00.001-05:00

So this week was what could be called one of the most successful weeks in the mission. Coming into this Friday, we had no lessons taught except for one to Bruna, and neither did the other office elders. So we got to talking and they said, "What if we got 100 other lessons?" I said, "If you manage that, I will buy you dinner." And they agreed. I will admit, while I knew that they COULD do it, I didn't think that they WOULD. Well, on Saturday, we held a street meeting, in which we taught 14 lessons, and then had to leave because of weekly planning, but the other two stayed. Well they called me at 8:00 telling me that they expected dinner. They had taught 107 lessons over the course of 5 hours. Whoa. So we went to dinner. The next day Elder Bowen and I were talking and we figured that since it worked so well for them, we would try it ourselves. Well, it was not as easy as it looked. I am going to describe it in detail to you later, maybe in a letter that I'll have my dear old dad type up, but it was tough to meet our goal of 50 for the week. Our legs were tired, and we were mentally exhausted. But it was one of those memories that I will never forget. I want to tell you about all the people with whom I shared the gospel, but it would take hours. I don't even remember all of them myself now, but they know a little bit more of happiness because of what we did that day. In our district we came just 7 lessons short of 300, which is half of what the mission sometimes has. We were really blessed with the opportunity to teach the word unto many this weekend.

I had been a little bit frustrated because of a lack of progress in our area. Bruna had been doing well, but it felt like we never got out. We had the whole office just completely clean, done, filed, and I felt like I was never going to leave. But as we concentrated on getting the Lord's errand finished where we were, we were blessed with many to teach (6 new investigators also came because of it)

My spiritual thought is John 13:1. I know that I am going to be leaving this area soon, and a temptation is just to let it go to pot because I won't be working here anymore. But I don't feel that way at all. I love the district, my companion, and this area "unto the end". I want to help them to achieve their goals and to always have a lively area in which the work of salvation is taking place.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Élder Carson Marsh

Memória 02-16-2009

2009-02-16T07:39:00.002-05:00

Hey everybody. I was supposed to get off that big email to you all last week. I may actually write one anyways pretending that it was last week, because I feel bad not getting off the info to you, but trying to compile two weeks into one would be tough. So much happens every week!

This week was Zone Conference week. For Office Elders, this makes working in the field difficult, for we have to go to Coimbra on Tuesday and then Porto Zone Conference on Thursday. On top of that, we had to spend our Saturday driving everywhere to take care of some long-needed chores. I had to do a financial audit in Vila Real because the branch president there is a missionary, so we drove up: 15 minutes to Maia to get some dividers for Sister Henry, 15 minutes back, 1+ hour up to Vila Real, where I got off to do the audit, then they went 2 hours up to Bragança to take all the stuff out of the house since the area is shutting down, 2 hours back, an hour to Guimarães to drop off a washing machine with the sisters there, and then an hour back. So it was basically nonstop that day. Exhausting!

So that left us with Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for all office work and missionary work that we wanted to do. Most of the time I was so worried that we weren't getting all of the missionary work done that we wanted to, I didn't concentrate fully on the office work, and I didn't do a very good job with it. I knew it, and the other office elders knew it. I was pulling in one direction and they in the other, and we weren't every unified. Makes life stressful!

In the work itself, things have been a bit on the downslope. Miguel has completely ditched us. He ignores our phone calls and hangs up on us. So he's out. We're not really sure why it happened, but there's really nothing that we can do about it. There have been some other people with whom I have worked throughout my mission that now are not doing so well. Sometimes it makes one depressed as a missionary, you know? It feels like you're powerless, unable to stop the flow of others' bad choices. But as with every coin, there is another side. Seeing this has given me great hope and a greater appreciation for the power of the Atonement. In order to gain a testimony of the Atonement and its power to heal, I always thought that I would have to see the difference in myself. But I don't break too many rules, and I haven't been in trouble like my Portuguese friends are seeming to be. But sometimes you don't have to experience the trials first-hand. When you really love people, their sufferings become your own, but their healings and joy do as well. The gift of repentance is always there for us, no matter where we are. And, as Alma the Elder for his wayward son, I can pray with faith that these, too, will come back into the Lord's fold. Worked for him, didn't it?

On the bright side, Bruna is doing way good. (not grammatically correct, I know) She, her little brother, her mom and grandmother have all gone to church two weeks in a row now. They all love it. The weather has also been great, so we did a sweet street meeting yesterday. It was a lot of fun.

And with that, I move into my title, Memória. Memória is Portuguese for Memory, which is exactly what I want to be creating. I don't exactly have a lot of time left here. I know that it's going to pass by in an instant. What kind of memories do I want to be creating? Will I say when all is said and done that I loved every minute of it, that I went and did things because I wanted to? Will I say that I loved the people, my companions, the work? Will I come to know God and His Son, and thereby have eternal life? I'm going to be taking lots of pictures, creating memories, and enjoying myself for the next 5 months. And now, this won't even mean that I don't work hard, because my desires are becoming the Lord's. He wants me to shar the gospel. I want it too. Porto won't know what hit it.

Venha o que vier,

Elder Carson Marsh

I Need a Sword to Rest On (02-02-2009)

2009-02-02T09:51:00.003-05:00

This week has been an exhuasting week. When I went in for my interview with President Henry this week, he told me that he thought that I looked beat up. Maybe I did get beat up, but I was probably too tired to notice.

As I look back on the week, I can see why things didn't work out as well as I wanted. Transfers kicked us hard. We had about twice the responsabilities that we normally do, including a baptismal interview for a couple that the assistants baptised. Plus the companion change, plus the end-of-transfer office preparations, and we ended up teaching a grand total of two other lessons this week. On the happier side, we marked a baptism! The new guy Miguel that Pedro Filho brought into church last week is a stud. He was way excited about the book of mormon and we have two appointments already marked for this next week. He is currently marked for the 21st of February. Bruna is doing well, too. We are going to try to meet with her parents soon to talk to them.

So in the interview, President taught me a lesson. Before his mission, President Henry was a prominant business man. So he knew how to deal with the types of things that I do. And acutally, the principles that he taught me can apply to all sorts of things in life.

He taught me that there are important things and not important things that we do. There are also urgent things and not urgent things that we do. These categories take up most of our time in this life. So, you have four quadrants: Important things that are urgent, Important things that are not urgent, and so forth.

He told me that we should not spend much time, if any, doing non-urgent, non-important things. However, he also said that if we spend all of our time doing urgent, important things, we will live our lives in emergency mode, and we will end up, like I was, beat up.

Instead, we should try to spend most of our lives doing important things that are not urgent. These things include planning, relationship building, self-strengthening, and the like. These principles can be easily tied into missionary work and the gospel. Studying the gospel (self-strengthening), for example, is infinitely preferable than an office crisis that makes me pull out my hair. As we learn to take a step back sometimes, we will learn to live a better rythmic, less stressed out life. I have learned to write tasks down and forget about them so that I'm not always worrying about them. I have also learned that I simply can't do it alone. I have been trying to for too long. And forcing it doesn't get us very far.

I believe that God is blessing me. Elder Bowen will be a fun addition to the office, and I just want to teach him the things that I have learned so that the office will do well even after I am gone. But for right now, I'm tired, and I want to sleep.

Love to all!

Carson

Motivations part II 01-26-2009

2009-01-26T11:58:00.000-05:00

Transfer calls! They weren't quite as exciting this time because I knew exactly where I was going. However, Elder Whitaker did get transferred (he'll be whitewash/training) and I will be getting Elder Bowen again! I'll be showing him the ropes of missionary work and Financial Secretarying here in Porto for a transfer, at which point I'll leave for my next, and probably last, area.

Lately I have been really afraid of time. I'm afraid of never being able to preach the gospel again. Not like this. I think that if I could come back later as a missionary if I wanted to, it wouldn't be so bad, but we have a power here that I may never experience again. Even as I will try to introduce my friends and extended family to the wonderful news and happiness that I have, it will be through the missionaries there that they will feel that it is true.
Sometimes I wish that I were in a more successful place. A place where things were always happening, and where I could just teach and change people's lives all the time. Yet I know that this is where I was called to be, and that there is a reason for my being here. In the midst of what could be called a hopeless people, we have to find our own hope (Paraphrase of an Elder here-- Elder Taylor Nelson). Finding hope motivates us; we must rely on God in a way that not everyone has to do.

Bruna is doing well. We have spiritual lessons with her, and she is progressing. Manuel went downhill; he doesn't want to talk to us right now, but we'll go back in a few weeks. Henrique was a really cool guy; I hope that he does well in Brasil. But just as he left, we received a new hope; Pedro Filho brought a colleague to church, and we will teach him on Wednesday. The Lord loves us and is merciful towards us.

When all is said and done
When my eyes can finally see
Will I glory in the sweet release
and the mercy fill my soul with peace
Will I kneel and wonder how the Saviour speaks?
Will I hear Him say "Well done"
When He sees what I've become
Will I live with Him when all is said and done?

This is my greatest motivation. I love God and His Son Jesus Christ. I love Portugal and its people. I love you all and desire your salvation. So I will work until all is said and done.

Venha o que vier,

Carson Marsh, Elder of the Lord

Motivations, Part I 01-19-2009

2009-01-19T13:44:00.001-05:00

So this week is going to be the first part of a series of emails. I think that it is important for us to look into this subject, as it has made a significant part of my life lately, and I think that when we break it down, what motivates us is at the center of all of our lives.

But first, news. In the work, Bruna is doing well, showed up at church, needs to talk to her parents about what she is learning so that she can experience the happiness that comes from being baptized. Hopefully we can reactivate her in the process.

Elder Cannavo's area is having a baptism this week. His name is João Moura- he's way cool and he is definitely ready to be baptized. The other good news about that is that Manuel will be attending as well, theoretically.

So those are the big two things in our area. I feel as Alma did at the moment (see Alma 29) because of the success of my brethren. Sure, it's not my glory, but rather, it is the glory of God. Oftentimes, we do things because we want to be recognized for it, and not because we desire others' happiness, which should be the root of everything that we do as missionaries. We want to have a baptism; we dont' want someone to come into the fold of God. Well, I have to go, but I will continue on this subject as time progresses.

Venha o que vier,

Elder Carson Marsh

Be careful and not turn away the still, small voice 01-12-2009

2009-01-12T14:48:00.001-05:00

We had a pretty good week this week. I have been struggling to get emails to everyone that I wanted to write this week, so my mind is a little frazzled, but I think that I can still come up with something semi-intelligent to say. Wait, do I ever do that?

I went on a division with Elder Slater this week from Thursday evening to Saturday morning. Elder Slater came here to the office, something that I thought would never happen. He said that he wanted to get to "know the beast". In some ways, the office really can be referred to as a beast to be conquered; it impedes us from our goal, and we cannot just ignore it, for otherwise it will attack us. When he said that he was coming, I thought to myself, "Perfect! Now I'll show him what the office is really about! He's going to have so much work to do that he won't know what to do with himself! He'll know why we don't always get out, and he'll be sorry that he's always trying to get us to put our field work ahead of our missionary work!" And of course, as usual, God had a humility sandwich prepared with my name on it.

The first day, we taught 6 other lessons, most of which came from knocking doors, and we found two new investigators. The next day, Elder Slater accomplished everything that I asked of him, and we were able to get out and teach a really cool member reference the first lesson. His name is Henrique and he is really cool as well. So I learned that although everyone has his faults, our leaders are chosen of God and they will fulfill their work. It is not our responsibility to judge those God has chosen to lead us.

I want to talk a bit about the quote that I chose for the above subject line, said by Joseph Smith to Brigham Young. Many times, the Spirit is just a thought, and when we think other thoughts, we come up with a little resistance, but it is fairly easy to break through the line of thinking to whatever we think is right. But what happens when we surrender our train of thought to the easier path? Seems strange, but I saw its influence this week. One of the girls that became a new investigator this week, Tánia, wasn't there on Friday when we remarked, but on Sunday, I felt the need to go visit her. It was far away and it didn't seem logical to do so, but the aforementioned feeling came to me, and we went. She greeted us warmly, gave us her phone number, and accepted the invitation to meet tomorrow (today now) for a lesson.

The Spirit is real, and so is God.

Elder Carson Marsh

A New Year 01-05-2008

2009-01-05T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well, the full year of my mission is over. Pretty soon I'm going to be 21, and on the same day comes my six months left mark. It's crazy how much time flies by so quickly. I'm saddened a little bit because I will never be able to do what I am doing now again, at least not quite in the same way. I must take advantage of the time that I have now.

I look back on the effects last year. As luck would have it, I have been put back with Elder Cannavo and Elder Jacobe of the Póvoa/Viana district. And, for P-day, we went up to Viana to eat some bolos and play some Frisbee. Let's just say my throwing arm needs some work now! Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to go see Fátima and Cátia, which was a real bummer for me. As I think on last year, they were two of my greatest successes of said year. Saying successes makes it sound prideful, like I won a trophy or something, but it's not that at all. They were people whose lives God touched through me last year. I can say that they are my friends, and this because we have that connection (see D&C 50:22 (ish?)) that comes from one person sharing his or her testimony with another. I want to go see them again, and Elder Jacobe assured me that we would go before I leave the office. So all is well, but I will continue to pray for them and to prepare (slowly but surely) a letter for them.

But we move on. This year is a new one. We started it off with a little miracle! Halfway through Sunday school, our ward mission leader Pedro Bento showed up with his roommate Henrique. Henrique is a very quiet guy, but he is interested in what we have to say, although he is very confused at the moment, and so we are going to go by on Friday and share with him our testimonies of the Book of Mormon. I hope that he benefits as much from them as Cátia and Fátima did. They searched for themselves, and they know the truth, even if they don't always act on it. And now I must go off of what I know and continue to preach the gospel. If my mission is one of love, I will always reach out to people, no matter how many reject me.

Thanks, all who listen to me. I love you all.

Élder Carson Marsh

This life is the time to prepare to meet God 12-30-2008

2008-12-30T13:07:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! I hope it was everyone's favorite day of the year. If not, perhaps today can be. Make it memorable! We had a great Christmas here in the office. We got to eat dinner at the Henry's, and we were able to watch Narnia! (first movie) I love that movie, for it has so many allusions to Christ, and it portrays them in a way that even my puny comprehension can understand clearly.
With the upside of the holidays comes, however, the downside of the holidays. No one wants to talk to us because they are too busy. Not that I can blame them; Christmas is a time to spend with loved ones, and if I didn't know what lay behind our message, I'd probably say thanks but no thanks this time of year as well. Yet we are still missionaries, and we are still here for a reason. Our attempts to meet people, like street meetings, have proven less than successful. So how do we know where to go and what to do so that this time can be most productive in serving the Lord and building up His kingdom?

Well, we need revelation. We need to receive from God the way in which He wants the work to be done. President Henry has reiterated the following idea to us multiple times: Lists are one of the best ways for us to receive revelation. This means that we need to be organized. It's like the scripture says, "This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" And then it says that the day of this life is the time for men to perform their labors. We often look at this in a spiritual sense, having most of its meaning after this life. But what if we look at it in a temporal sense? Every time we kneel down to pray, are we not in a way meeting with God? And so, according to the scripture, the day is the time in which we shall perform our labors, thereby preparing us to meet God.

What does this mean, really? Good question. It means that we are getting organized in this district. We are dividing up our area into subsections and taking a good look at it. Recording important things like how many people walk the streets and what kinds of knocking doors potential it has. We are changing the way that we plan and allowing all of us to think about things in a bit of a different way. In so doing, we are accumulating information. We are thinking, and we are drawing conclusions. This way, when we take those questions to the Lord of where will we go and what will we do, we already have our own ideas on which the Lord can draw.
A lot of times we consider revelation a "ta-da" moment that comes to the faithful without any forepreparation. And, it is true that it can come to those who have not prepared themselves in times when they could not have prepared themselves better and they have been obedient to the commandments of God. But when we can do things ourselves, God expects us to do them.

So, let us all tackle our big questions by preparing for them and taking them to the Lord.

Happy New Year!

Elder Carson Marsh

Who Provides the Miracles? 12-22-2008

2008-12-22T07:44:00.002-05:00

So it's CHRISTMAS in three days! Get excited! I am so glad that we have a day to celebrate the giving of the greatest gift there is. God gave unto us His son on this day (okay well we CELEBRATE it on this day) and was apart from him for a time so that Jesus could make others happy. Well that is our calling. All of us missionaries out here are away from our loved ones for a time so that we can make others happy.

Only sometimes it doesn't seem that way. After an entire day of "I'm in a hurry right now"s and "I'm not interested"s, one can get really discouraged! Sometimes you really have to push hard to get anything to happen! I mean, we have the power and authority given us from God to do this work. If we just have enough faith, we can MAKE things happen- people will listen, for we can force it to come to pass. We talk about having great faith and how it is a principle of power, so we should be able to have sufficient power to make people want to listen.

Right?

Wrong.

I think that sometimes I mistake faith for obligation. We in no way can oblige people to act, nor can we oblige uninterested people to hear us out. That's not the kind of power that the scriptures tell us about. Rather, the faith that we need that is REAL is the power to do things according to God's will. God has the power to do all things, but His WILL is operated a little bit differently. We can work hard, and we will be rewarded for it, but we must remember that we are not He who provides the miracles. Jesus Christ performs the miracles through the power of our Father in Heaven. He does it in His own time. If we do not seek out His will for God's children, we will be trying to push a wall that will never crumble.

That is the attitude that has carried me into today. We tried having a street meeting yesterday, but it was not too successful. We knocked doors and were even less successful. And this was because we sought not the will of the Lord. We went and assumed that things would happen. That is not the faith that God requires. His faith requires great effort, but it provides us with great joy when we succeed.

We have, however, been experiencing our fair share of miracles. We have four appointments today, one of which was a reference from an investigator from another area. God will place people in our path if we work hard.

Read the scriptures and seek revelation. Ask, as the angel did to Nephi, "What desirest thou?" and find the answers to your questions by study and prayer. And write everything down so that you will remember the greatness of God.

Have a great Christmas, have lots of fun, and don't forget the One.

Venha o que vier,

Carson, The Elder

The Weaknesses Strike Back 12-15-2008

2008-12-15T13:35:00.000-05:00

Hey all!

The week was pretty good. We overextended ourselves a little bit with our goals; gotta set goals that are a little bit more achievable, but we're getting there. In terms of our investigators, Bruna is doing well; she came to church even when none of her other family members could make it, so that was way cool. Manuel is doing pretty well, but we had a headache of a lesson when IrmÃ£o Barreira came and they just talked the whole time. Elder Whitaker did not say a single word the entire time, and I had to struggle really hard to get a word in. We should be going with President Henry to teach the next lesson, though, so I am excited for that, for it should be a great opportunity for the two of us. We have two new promising investigators. Jorge is a very Catholic guy who is willing to listen and wants to learn more about the gospel, so we have been working with him. But we also got one really cool new investigator named Ana Paula. She was invited by another investigator (from Porto 2, Zone Leader area) named JoÃ£o Moura to come to church with him. But since she lives in our area, they both came to church with us today! She said that the class (she could only attend sunday school) was better than she could have hoped for. So we will see what the next week holds.

So, I want to share a bit of an experience that I have been having lately with all of you. I suppose that it started after we were making contacts on our street (after two appointments failed on us that day) and we talked to some crazy people but the one that had the greatest effect on me was a guy who told me that he didn't see a point for another life and that he didn't really want to see anyone whom he had lost in this life again. It was a very sad conversation, and it had an impact on me. I suppose that just as the Spirit can make positive and constructive things make sense to a person, so can negative energy affect us. I started having a bad attitude about things that I was doing: exercises, work, whatever. I couldn't see the point. It took me a while to get out of this slump. But thankfully, the Lord knows just how to help.

And how did He do it? By showing unto me my weaknesses. I learned that my weaknesses hadn't gone away; I had just learned to surpress them under the majority of situations under which I was placed. But this week I found myself doing things that I would then look back and say, "Wow, I thought that I was better than that. I thought that I had surpassed that." For instance, we just got transfer calls. Normally, everyone gets excited about them, talks about them WAY too much and speculates on what was going to happen. I already knew where I was going (AKA staying here in the Office) and so last transfer I didn't really talk about it, and I kept to the work that I was doing. This transfer, I started obtaining information that no one else knew about, for President and Sister Henry confided some things in me about what would happen. And Elder Whitaker and Elder Harris talked about it ALL the TIME. So I went back to my old ways. Not like a huge sin or anything, but something that I thought had passed by me. At any rate, as I started noticing my weaknesses again it gave me a new desire to conquer them. A new adventure, if you will. Joseph Smith once said, "The nearer a man is to perfection the clearer his sins become." So we must find out what those sins are and destroy them. Not just surpress them, but seek them out in every corner and every situation until they have no place to hide. And when we fall, Jesus will be right there to pick us up again.

So here's what happened at transfers. Elder Owen will be replaced by Elder Castro, the first native Portuguese speaking Assistant in President Henry's mission. We were all way excited for him. He didn't know a word of English before his mission but now it is all that he speaks. He's way cool and I am going to enjoy serving near him. Elder Harris got transferred and so Elder Jacobe will be coming off of Madeira (yay!) to be the new Executive Secretary. However, since everyone on Madeira is going to stay there until the 1st, we will be in a triple (myself, Elder Whitaker and Elder Cannavo) for 3 weeks. So that will be way sweet.

Well, hey, I've got to go. I'm starving.

Venha o que vier,

Elder Carson Marsh

Back to the Wall 12-08-2008

2008-12-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

This was a bit of a rough week for missionary work. Well, that's not the best way to put it. We had a great week. The numbers looked good, and we actually do have a lot of potential for next week. But we worked our tails off for the amount of success we actually had, and we are going to have to be careful this next week so that we don't burnout. I think that I developed the mindset that working ourselves silly was exactly what we needed to do so that we could be up to other missionaries' status in terms of success, numbers, and spirituality. I think that I have forgotten along the way that we can't be comparing our successes to other missionaries like that, but rather, to ourselves and to the greatest Missionary that ever lived.

Anyways, we do have some cool stuff going on here in Porto. Bruna is doing well. Her parents take her to church every Sunday; they just don't stay for the meetings. We'll have to arrange something with them. Manuel had his first lesson today where we had a member present. IrmÃ£o Barreira attended the lesson with us, which he seemed to enjoy doing.

Manuel talked a LOT, but as he just underwent divorce and is all alone, it was to be expected. We hope to be able to have the lesson next time at the Barreira's, which Sister Barreira, despite the fact that she is very ill, offered to do. We also have 4 other investigators to visit this week, 2 members, and a Christmas party to attend!

I also got to go on division with the Foz elders this week. I got to go to IrmÃ£ Vera's and also Vanessa's to visit them. Vera is active but Vanessa and her family are not. However, they seemed excited to see me (they won't let the other elders into their house unless I set up the appointment) and listened to what I had to say. We taught the concept of enduring to the end, and Vanessa and her mother Maria JoÃ£o seemed sincerely touched by what I had to say. They promised that they would go to church, and despite their less-than-perfect track record, I want to believe them.

So the common theme this week that I am kind of trying to work on is Patience at the wall. It feels oftentimes that we are trying to push a wall, that some people have problems that they'll never get over to the point that we should just drop them or start over or give up. But that is not how God works with us; if it were, we would have been Great Flooded ages ago. The great thing about the Atonement is that it is patient. Every time we repent with real intent to change, we are forgiven. And Jesus knows many times that we are just going to fail again. That we are going to make a promise and not keep it. That our commitment level is weak at best. But He loves us and does it anyway. And so it is with us. There are some missionaries' quirks, some members' faults, some investigators' problems that just never seem to get any better. But they are getting better. We can learn things every time if we allow God to have place in us. It seemed like I hadn't learned anything on the mission when I talked to people with the exact same response that I used to get at the beginning, but it is simply not true. He loves us and we love them and so we will march forward, a little bit wiser than before, and we will be patient with our walls as God is patient with me, perhaps the most stubborn wall ever to be constructed.

Venha o que vier,
Ã‰lder Carson Marsh

The Perfect Balance 12/01/2008

2008-12-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope that you took some time while enjoying all the food to remember How it is that we obtain all of our blessings- food, shelter, clothing for starters, the Gospel for another, and then all of our opportunities, lessons learned, luxuries, safety and loved ones. We truly have been "highly favored by the Lord". I wonder why that is sometimes. Why have we been placed here instead of another who is wasting away in an environment created by greedy tyrants or others who abuse their agency? The answer that I have come up with is that while we are not better than they who end up in those situations, we, like Paul, Moses and Alma, are necessary for the work that the Lord seeks to put forth.

Well, this week the work, at least in the thought-of sense of the word, slowed down considerably this week. We ended up with two new investigators, one of which is a FÃ¡tima worshipper. Have I told you about FÃ¡tima yet? Since about my third week in the country, I have gotten to know FÃ¡tima very well. FÃ¡tima is both the name of a city in Portugal and one of the names given to Mary (Maria). It is believed that she appeared to three children in that city and saved them from danger, and ever since then the story has spread to all of Portugal. Here, it appears that the people worship Mary more than they do Jesus, which is incredibly sad. They just don't understand that it is not by Mary that we are saved, but rather by the Saviour, who died and resurrected that we might have life eternally.

The things that really slowed us down this week were the PÃ³voa house and Thanksgiving. The mission just got a new sister, and so they put her and IrmÃ£ de Sousa (from when I was in the Foz) in PÃ³voa, so we needed a new house since the Elders were also staying in PÃ³voa. The landlord of the house we found made all these crazy demands of us, and it got really annoying. He wanted all of his money in cash, and when he was an hour late, making it so that the PÃ³voa Elders had to leave to get to an appointment, somehow it was their fault. So we've had a lot of complications like that this week. Then the Thanksgiving preparations slowed us down a little. However, both of these things were very necessary; they just impeded our preaching of the gospel for a little bit. This next week, we have some great plans, so I am looking forward to that.

And thus I come to the subject of my email. It is necessary to come to a perfect balance in our lives. It is only in this way that we will be able to keep ourselves truly happy. There is so much required for the upkeep of a spirit child of God. Put that in a collective standpoint and the upkeep increases. Take me for example. I have a calling as a Financial Secretary which is over the Portugal Porto Mission. That means that my actions affect the temporal/financial part of the lives of every missionary in the mission. Then there's my calling as the District Leader. That affects the spiritual and missionary work part of 10 missionaries here, as well as the people who are then affected by the efforts of those missionaries. Then there are my own duties with myself and my companion over our area, and we have to try our best to preach the gospel within that area.

So, back to my point. Sometimes, because of the demands of a specific day or week, the balance can shift, and we have to adapt to it. For example, last week was a great week to get missionary work done. This week was a little bit more occupied. On Monday I had to deal with the financial side in helping the PÃ³voa house; Tuesday I went on division as part of the District Leader side; Wednesday I did a baptismal interview for the Zone Leaders' investigators, two brothers named Pedro (15) and Tiago (16) who are just amazing boys (District Leader side); Thursday was Thanksgiving, which was a great break and spiritual uplifting for all; and Saturday and Sunday were rainy days, to which we also needed to adapt. So, because of demands in other areas of my life, some things had to move to the back burner. This is a concept that affects all of our lives. And finding that balance day after day and even year after year is the great challenge surrounding our lives, the reason for the need of personal revelation, and the thing that makes life interesting.

One more thought and then I have to go. On Saturday we attempted to hold a street meeting to make up for lost missionary work. The theory is that people aren't going to want to talk to us so much come Christmastime, so we are trying to find lots of new investigators now so that we will have people to teach when the holidays arrive. So, as I prayed about my plans for the next day (something I highly suggest doing) I thought that something told me 12:00. I had plans to do the meeting at 3, but I figured, hey, just in case the thought MAY have come from God, it wouldn't hurt to change my plans. So I did. I called everyone and informed them of the change. Then a monkey wrench got thrown in. People started showing up in the office for interviews with President. We did not know about these interviews, but we were required to stay in so that he could do the interviews. Well, I had checked the weather, and it said that it was supposed to rain all day anyways, so I figured, eh, it was going to be rainy all day anyways, so it was okay.

12:02 the rain stopped.

2:00 it started up again and did not stop.

By the time everything was done and we could get out there, it was 3, and the street meeting was basically a bust.

So, what could I have done differently? At least two of us HAD to stay in the office, but the other two could have gone out. We could have done SOMETHING to try to follow this revelation that I had been given. When we receive revelation from the Lord, the next step is to "courageously follow the promptings". I wondered what the courageous part was for until now. I didn't understand that sometimes it is hard to tell people that we're going to go outside even when it looks like it's going to rain all day. We sometimes need to take that leap of faith.

Well, I have to go now, but I hope that you all have a great week, and that you listen to the whisperings.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

Leap of Faith 11-24-08

2008-11-24T19:16:00.004-05:00

It has been an amazing week. Where to start?

This week has been very fortunate for us because we have been able to concentrate a lot on non-office work, despite the fact that we had two Zone Conferences to deal with this week. An Area 70 (Area 70's are bearers of the Priesthood with a special calling to oversee an area of the world) came to visit the mission, and what he said made us feel as though we were once again in the MTC. He spoke of faith, and how simply having faith would get us the results that we wanted; little faith brings little results, while big faith brings big results. Well, I have been on the mission for a while now, and I have worked pretty hard. So while I'm listening to this I'm thinking that I know what I'm talking about and that we're working as hard as I could. But as Elder Wandra (the 70) continued speaking, my heart was softened. Rather than thinking that what he had said could not be accomplished, I felt like I had not been meeting my potential for a very long time. I had been using my office calling as an excuse to not expect miracles to happen in my area.

On Wednesday, Elder Wandra came to the office to talk to the office staff about missionary work. Afterwards, President Henry asked me to make a diagram of what he said, which I have attached here. Meanwhile, I'm just feeling like a worse and worse missionary. Nothing was happening in our area. Okay, that's not true at all. On Tuesday we marked Bruna for baptism! And she came to church on Sunday with her grandmother! It was great, but we still have to talk to her parents to make sure that they are okay with it, but as they are members (inactive right now) I think that we can get things done. The only roadblock may be that we can't meet with her as often as we would like to teach her all of the requirements.

Anyways, so on to the really cool moment of the week (besides that one). So okay, I'm continuing down the week feeling like a terrible missionary. So we decide to have a good old fashioned Street Meeting! after which we would knock some doors to finish out the day. Our goals were 9 other lessons and 4 new investigators. We really wanted to get these goals this week. So we prayed. And we went. So we went and talked to as many people as time would allow for. And we got the nine lessons, but only 1 new investigator. So, not gonna lie, I was a little bummed. And since I had never gotten real results from knocking doors, I was ready to throw in the towel. Mistake. We went knocking, and we talked to a guy named Agosto. Nice guy, not looking for too much religion-wise, but he liked us and agreed to have us come back and talk to him so that he could get his spiritual bearings. Two. Then as we were being rejected by a guy whose door we knocked, Elder Whitaker says to me, "There's a lady staring at us from her window". And sure enough, there she was. I figured that she would hide inside as soon as I started trying to talk to her, but in fact she was all smiles and agreed for us to come back. Three. So then we finished. And I was envigorated, but I really wanted that fourth person, y'know? So I told Elder Whitaker that we were going to get one. And there was a lady at a bus stop by herself, and I told Elder Whitaker, "There's number four!" So I talked to her. She was a depressed lady because of the death of her husband and father, and we talked and I promised her a message that would bring her happiness. We will see her a week from tomorrow (cuz we didn't have any other time to meet with her! It's all full!) I felt the spirit of missionary work flow through me, and I feel that if I will just allow and expect the miracle, the Lord Jesus Christ will provide for my miracles.

I love missionary work. Now the trick is to keep up what has already happened. It doesn't work without God!

Venha o que vier,

Élder Carson Marsh

Being Anxiously Engaged 11-17-08

2008-11-17T22:20:00.000-05:00

I am going to admit to you all that today it was quite difficult for me to come up with an adequate topic to share with you all today. I have been very tired and we did not get a p-day today (although we will attempt to take one on Thursday) But as always, from these we can learn so much if we put our minds to it and trust in the Lord.

After looking at our numbers for this week, let's just say that I have had better. Trying to balance office work and missionary work has proven quite difficult, but I shall tell you about it! And trust me, this will not be a negative e-mail; don't worry.

So, we had a street meeting planned for Saturday, at which we had hoped to find some new investigators and teach the gospel. However, about ten minutes before the street meeting was to begin, Elder Cannavo exclaimed, "The Newsletter! We have to do the newsletter!" Well, that was the death of the street meeting. We spent three hours or so on doing that, and then we went to the Foz to try to help Maria JoÃ£o have incentive to go to the baptism there (Vanessa's mom; remember her?) She didn't show, but I am hopeful that we will be able to recontact her.

Okay, so, our numbers were terrible this week. And I was ready to just chalk it up to excuses and throw my hands in the air, saying that it's an office thing and that improvement can't happen until I leave. But that is simply not true. When I think back on it, there have been times throughout the week in which we have been doing basically nothing in the office, but because we did not have anything planned, we didn't really want to go outside. I have a testimony of the importance of planning in our lives. When we don't plan, nothing gets accomplished and we fail to fulfill our purpose, whatever it may be. So, the goal for this upcoming week is to plan, to goal set, and to do. Whenever we are not doing anything, we will have a plan for that. And we will continue to be nourished by the good word of God.

Miracles are happening here. I fear that one day, it will be necessary for all of us who believe in God and who hope for a better world (Ether 12:4) to stand together all over the world and stand our ground. Because of this, we all are going to have to work hard to strengthen good whereve we happen to be. It is necessary in California. It is necessary in Utah. It is necessary in Portugal. It is necessary wherever you live and with whomever you live. The areas in my district that are not in the office are doing amazing right now, so I am very excited for their progress. We also have our tender mercies that the Lord is showing forth upon us. We just met with Manuel today, who is still taking interest in the Gospel. We invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and he said that he would do it. We want to invite Bruna to be baptized tomorrow or next week, but hopefully tomorrow. And we managed to do a contact on our way back from Manuel's today, and so I was happy about that. He will be a reference for Matosinhos, and since that's part of the Foz district, I know the area a bit, so that's cool.

Hey, everyone. Keep smiling. God is still there, and He still cares. He's not going to push the Do Over button unless no one righteous is left in Gomorrah. While we may have to take a hit, we will do it knowing that we will receive our recompense in full. Jesus lives, this is His Church, and those who deny it are denying themselves the greatest happiness available to them. So be happy; the best is in our hands.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

The most adaptive to change 11-10-2008

2008-11-10T10:47:00.001-05:00

Well, transfers happened. Elder Anderson was transferred to Viseu, which is Far away. This means that I am fairly on my own as far as financial things are concerned, although I can still call Elder Anderson when necessary. I have actually only had to call him a few times these last few days, and at times even he didn't really know what to do. So, while I do believe that I know the meaning of "chicken with head cut off" now, I have been doing OK as far as no one has called me to tell me how bad I messed up.

Being District Leader has been cool so far, I guess. All that I have done so far is call in numbers and hear about the other companionships' investigators and such. To answer Dad's question, no the office staff is not the only group in my district. Technically, I have the biggest district in the mission, but that's only sort of true because the Porto zone leaders are only in district meeting every other week and the Assistants are there maybe once a transfer, if that. So it's mostly the four Office Elders and the Porto 1 elders, who are Elder Ramsey and his new trainee Elder Martin. So that's cool. Everyone assumes that I'm going to make all of the decisions about everything, which is sort of weird, but suits me just fine. There are a lot of things that needed to change about the Office missionary work, and I think that fresh blood was necessary here. Elder Stanger was a great district leader, don't get me wrong. But the main focus of the office while he was here was the less active project and the office projects that needed to be done. Now that those things are finishing up, it is good that there is someone else in to make the transition more manageable. It is difficult for the same person who stayed in the office all the time doing projects to turn around and say, "Okay, all done, now get outside and work!" That will be my job. It's kind of strange being Elder Cannavo's district leader as he was mine in Viana do Castelo, for where he was giving us the direction that we wanted to take for that transfer, I am doing so here and now. But that's how leadership in the Church works--it isn't a ladder to climb, but rather a calling system based on what the Lord wants at a certain place at a certain time.

One dangerous thing that tends to happen to leaders in the Church is described in D&C 121, which reads Something like, "We have learned by sad experience that almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion." I am going to try my hardest not to be one of those missionaries. It is so easy to tell who takes his job "too seriously", not meaning that callings in the church should be shrugged off, but that we should remember that nothing has changed, we are all still missionaries, and that really all that I'm doing that I wasn't doing before is calling for numbers and planning a weekly meeting.

Elder Whitaker is sweet. He's a lot like me, except not as loud. It's a good thing. We have made an effort to get out more, and we actually have some investigators! I told you already about Manuel. His health is better and we will be meeting with him on Wednesday. We also have an 11-year-old girl named Bruna whose grandmother is a member of the church and only doesn't go because of health reasons. She's really cool and we will meet with her on Tuesday. Things are, in fact, happening here.

I have noticed something in the past week that reminds me of Charles Darwin's theory on evolution. When most scientists said that his theory was based on the idea that only the strongest survive, he corrected them, saying that it is not the strongest who survive, but those most adaptive to change. When change happens, we need to be ready to act on it. A change in personnel is a great opportunity, for example, to change things that we wished had gone better about the last transfer. Getting out more, studying, cooking, you name it. And now we have the opportunity to do so better, because we have not yet formed habits. Change allows us to completely break old habits and create new ones, but we have to be careful to keep the good ones and break the bad ones.

Well, hey, Elder Stanger has been waiting for a while. I should give him the computer.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength 11-03-08

2008-11-03T09:38:00.001-05:00

Well, there goes another transfer. That was fast. In a few days I will be permenantly taking over the finances for the Portugal Porto mission. Let the games begin...

This transfer has been a lot of fun. Elder Stanger (our district leader and Office worker) and Elder Anderson have been really cool. We did a lot of work together, re-doing the less-active work here and finishing up all of the other projects that made up this transfer. Because of the projects added to my financial training, very little missionary work in the general sense of the word was accomplished. But I feel that we worked hard and got done what needed to get done. We also had a lot of fun. I have learned a bit of how to play soccer, and I got to play a bit of basketball as well to make sure that I'm not Completely physically useless when I get back. Also, I don't think that I have lost so many Monopoly games by dumb luck in my life! Stinkin' dice...But with all of this work in all aspects has also come with a lot of stress. On top of the financial stuff I have needed to learn, the work needed done, the P-days I have had to skip, the poor dieting and the lack of gospel studying or journal writing, I have been sick for the past six weeks. Sister Henry says she's going to fix me one way or another, but we'll see what happens with that. Anyways, the point of listing off my individual ailments is not to gain pity points, but rather to illustrate the fact that I've been a little bit of time now with my head under the water. Due to my poor diet and lack of time outside the office, my physical side is hurting. Due to the financial and other duties pressing on my, my mental side is hurting. Due to the lack of study time I have and lack of specific people to help or to seek revelation for, my spiritual side has also been hurting. Because my spiritual side is most noticeable here on the mission, I have oftentimes thought that I have been abandoned, that I had done something wrong to make it so that God didn't want to talk to me anymore, or that this calling was simply too much for me. It has only been recently (recently meaning the past week) that I have stopped to look at the whole picture. When I have felt weighed down, it has not always been by a spiritual lack. Our bodies and minds are also conduits for spiritual things. When we don't take care of our bodies and when we put too much stress on our minds, God has a greater difficulty communicating with us through those conduits. Luckily for us, He also gives us the words of His scripture to guide us when stress gets us down in those regards.

Sometimes, I have noticed, we cannot simply Feel the truth. When a lot of stress comes onto you, it's even difficult to take Elder Eyring's advice and simply remember times past when you felt spiritual. Satan has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and one of them is to feed hopelessness or lovelessness within us. But in times like these, God also gives us a lot of resources to take the adversary's influence out. We can know that we know the truth even when we can't even feel good enough to get our minds around the truth. It is during these times in which we have to put our heads down and hold to the rod, instilling in our minds, spirits, friends, or whatever is necessary at the time, the knowledge that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has and will again save us from whatever calamity comes our way (see Helaman 5:12) It is said (see Mosiah 4:27) that it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength, but requisite or not, sometimes we thrust it upon ourselves to place the world on our shoulders. Sometimes (and this is a good thing) we hit our Limit. Within Porto's city limits, I have hit my limit. But by prayer and perserverance I have come up for air again. And I am determined to be more on top of things this time, making time for the replenishing activities like scripture reading, missionary work, bearing testimony, eating properly, and relaxing. Luckily, one particular replenisher, the sacrament, should always be available to us. And as I do these things and push that limit, God will give the strength required. He won't take the things away that pushed us to the limit; rather, he will extend our limits.

Anyways, so transfers have come in. As it turns out, my plate is getting fuller. I will now be the District Leader of Porto with my companion Elder Whitaker. Elder Cannavo will stay as Executive Secretary with Elder Harris. Both Elders Whitaker and Harris are acting as temporaries to assist us until our replacement secretaries come in. The other member of our district, Elder Ramsey, will be training this upcoming transfer. I am actually incredibly grateful for this call at this time, for it will allow me to keep some of my focus on spiritual things and on uplifting other people, something I am not always able to accomplish here. And now that the weight is bigger, I'm counting on Grace from Jesus to shift the balance, making me stronger in the process. I don't really know what else to say. The Church is true, in case you were wondering. God lives, of this I am certain. If you want to know how I know, read the Book of Mormon, no preconceptions, from me or anyone else. Just do it, live it, and you will love it. I'll try to read more too.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

Building up the Fort 10-27-2008

2008-10-27T10:07:00.001-04:00

The office continues. I'd like to tell you of our daring adventures from one end of the office to the other, of how we almost deleted all of the computers' memory, how the phone bill for the missionaries is too high, or how I wittingly filed all of the papers that were in the "To be filed" drawer on my desk, but I am getting this illogical feeling that that might not be of interest to many of you. You might ask, "Wait, what happened to Elder Marsh? Is he still a missionary?" You wouldn't be the first; I've often asked that qustion of myself. Apparently when Elder Anderson first came into the office President Henry told him that it would basically be as if he were back home for the following six months. Assuming that the same applies to me, what is to be done? In the world in which I have lived for the past year, I have become accostomed to serving others in the field, and I have also become accostomed to receiving personal revelation for those out there and thus maintain my closeness with my Father in Heaven. With those "warm fuzzies" (as Sister Henry would call them) taken away, what am I to do?

Of course, the Book of Mormon has the answer. When Captain Moroni was at war, trying desperately to save his people from death and destruction, he was always coming up with new strategies and defenses. He probably had a lot of inspiration directly on the battlefield as he fought to save his people. But what happened when he didn't have the Lamanites breathing down his neck? When the Nephite nation was not in the middle of a civil war? He prepared. He built greater defenses. His calling immediately changed, without any setting apart, without anyone telling him what to do, because of the circumstances in which he was placed. We find ourselves in different circumstances every day. Sometimes it is necessary simply to fortify. When there is no problem to solve, don't panic and create one. Read your scriputres, go to church, and pray. And if you are always preparing and praising God, even when He's not directly speaking to you because of your circumstances, you can know that He still loves you.

Okay, I gotta go; they're kicking me off.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

We call it the Bairro Blitz 10-20-08

2008-10-20T19:47:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone. This is probably going to be one of the most boring emails that I've ever sent, because I don't have very much time at all. I got sucked in by a lot of useless stuff here at the Office (tends to happen a lot) and so we have an appointment in 45 minutes. Strange how quickly P-day seems to disappear.

This week was actually a pretty good week for missionary work. We are focusing a lot on the less-active project, and the only places left are the Bairros, which are big buildings called Blocks situated in THE most unorganized way possible, and a lot of people live in them. So we went around there trying to find the people who lived there. Some of them had moved and others hadn't, but we did find some new people to teach there; brothers, mothers, etc. of the members that we had come to find. We also had the opportunity to do a street meeting at which we found another new investigator, so all is well here. We will hopefully be able to get the Office Elders' spiritual level back up once we start having some good lessons.

We also sent off an Elder who was going home early for schooling purposes. Because there was only one of him, President invited the Office Elders to come too. It was a really cool experience; however, I have noticed a trend in my days here in the Office. I feel incredibly old. Half of the missionaries around me are going to be home in 2008. Most will eat Christmas dinner with their families. Many times I subconsciously forget the fact that I do indeed still have nine months left in my mission. I feel like I'm going home soon and that I'm just filling in my last days. However, that is not the case. So, what does that mean? Well, it means that I have to change my mindset. Set myself in to continue to work hard for the full time. I need to think missionary work and not what classes I'm going to take for college. It's a process, but I'm going to do it.

Well I gotta go cuz we're leaving.

Carson

Nothin' to do, Nothin' to lose 10-13-08

2008-10-13T11:17:00.000-04:00

By nothing to do, I really mean no Free time in which to do anything. We are always busy here in the office. This week was especially hectic because of the two Zone Conferences at which we were required to be present so that we could get every person his or her proselyting materials (including the new phones!) But it really did take a long time. Tuesday and Wednesday were gone, effectively. We didn't get a P-day, and we won't get one today. But that's life. We took a bit of time off last night to chillax in preparation for today's "festivites". Yet in the midst of it all we still managed to have an eventful week.

On Tuesday night I had the chance to do an impromptu division with one of the Assistants, Elder Matheson, to teach a less-active member who showed a lot of promise. We taught about the Plan of Salvation, and he told us that although he believed in the Plan of Salvation, he'd never specifically prayed about it to know that it was the truth. I think that it's a really cool part of the Church to be able to receive a spiritual confirmation of truths rather than having to accept it because any person, including the Prophets, say that they are true. The prophet testifies of the Book of Mormon. You can know that it is true by the power of the Holy Ghost. After receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, you can receive confirmations of other truths through personal experiences and spiritual witnesses, such as tithing, the sustaining of General Authorities, and the Plan of Salvation. I have felt the Spirit, for example, when I hear President Uchtdorf speak (why him specifically, I don't know) and so I can testify that he is a man of God. We can always be working on extending and strengthening our testimonies to include more.

None of the Coimbra sisters speak English, but they get a LOT done in Coimbra, for they are very humble, quietly dignified missionaries.

Something that I've noticed here in Porto is that the work is miraclulously coming to us. We have to opportunity to do missionary work despite the fact that we have no time to do it. When we went to the park to play soccer for exercises on Friday, and a Cape Verdian about our age showed and started watching us. When we talked to him he said that he was waiting for his friends to play basketball. Long story short we ended up playing a game of five on five basketball and soccer with them. They were supposed to come back Saturday, but they never showed. Luckily (ha, as if it were luck) we learned where more or less one of them lives, so we can try to find him if worse comes to worst.

On saturday the Porto 1a elders had a baptism! The man is amazing, husband of a member, and he already has plans to go to the temple, and he's already watched conference. It was a really spiritual experience.

So while we don't really have time for p-days or missionary work, the Lord provides. I will continue to do my best and to lift where I'm standing.

Venha o que vier,
Élder Carson Marsh

Lift Where You Stand 10-06-08

2008-10-06T13:35:00.001-04:00

So, I would like to start by saying a congratulations to all of you in Argentina, Calgary, Rome, and the beloved city of Kansas City. You all have reason to rejoice.

BUT HEY, WE'RE GETTING A TEMPLE IN PENNSYLVANIA, YO!!!!!!!!

PHILIDELPHIA!!!!!!!!

Whoo-hoo!~

Okay, recovering. ThatÂºs soo cool, though. I mean, itÂºs the difference between a 5 hour drive and a 2.5 hour drive, granted, but itÂºs my STATE. I have a sort of pride for Pennsylvania, the land in which I grew up, and although I was praying for Pittsburgh, the Lord has answered my prayers in this. As soon as the Prophet said five temples, I thought to myself, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, not really expecting anything. But wow, He delivered. Congratulations to the Saints in and around the great city of Philidelphia for your dedication to the Gospel. I have no doubt that you deserve it. YouÂºll all be seeing me out there.

Okay, so General Conference was Outstanding. % stars. Okay, five stars, sorry. I wanted to capitalize 5. Almost all of the talks seemed to shout, "Elder Marsh! I have a message for you from God. Pay attention and grow, cuz I know your challenges and here are the answers!" Well, maybe they werenÂºt THAT long-winded. But you know what I mean.

My favorite talk of all, or at least the one that I felt most applied to me, was the talk by Deiter F. Uchtdorf, "Lift where you Stand". Man, I hate even saying that though because there were so many good ones. Elder Wirthlin, my gosh, the world will mourn when he parts to the other side. President MonsonÂºs talk on time...I canÂºt wait to read that again. But you have to admit, Deiter F. Uchtdorf is a stud and a half. Anyone who may have thought at the beginning of his call, "Oh, theyÂºre just trying to finally get some diversity into the all-american quorum of the 12. Who is this guy?" must now recognize just how blessed this man has been by the Lord. His wisdom has stricken me to the heart. I am the man of which he spoke, seeking crowns and caves, and I have a desire now to lift where I stand. My last few emails have carried this sentiment. I have a great responsability, and I am loving it. This is where I belong. I remember thinking as soon as I received this call, "Hm, well if everything works out, I can STILL do this and this and be this and this and have this and this calling by the time I go home. Wrong thinking. It doesnÂºt matter where the Lord calls me later. Yes, I should prepare for the eventuality of the LordÂºs calling me to any calling, but right now the thing I have to focus on is the place that I have been called to stand. I could talk for hours on this. However, I promised to take my district out to lunch as celebration for the construction of a temple in Pennsylvania. So good work everyone. YouÂºve made it through another conference. Now go take the spirit of Primary Choirs. Be guided by angels. Be angels for someone else. Laugh. And please, lift where you stand.

Yes, that was less than 25 words.

Carson Marsh, Ã‰lder of the Lord

Wanderer in a strange land 09-29-08

2008-09-29T13:07:00.001-04:00

Well, it's me again. I bet that y'all are annoyed of all of those circles, so I'm going to try to make a habit of actually writing apostrophes. I'm in the Office! It's odd to think that the last time that I wrote to you all I was in Ermesinde. The last couple of days were actually pretty good. We actually probably ended up with more new investigators in those days than I had with Elder Beltrão in the three weeks before that. I think that once we knew that it was the end, the stress faded and we just got to work. It's just unfortunate that it took that long. He's a good missionary, though, and I wish him the best.

But, as I said, now I'm in the office. I really like it here. I am learning a lot about things that will help me after the mission. Elder Anderson is a really good teacher and he knows what he is doing, so hopefully by the time he leaves in November I will be sufficiently competent to take his place and take care of the finances of the mission. Basically, if Elder Cannavo (Executive Secretary) just didn't do our duties, the entire mission would fail within a month. No pressure, right? As you all know, I am an ambitious person and seek for power and position, but sometimes I forget that it is because I want to help people that I seek for these things. Well, now I have responsibility. A lot of it. And so I am helping people. I'm doing it from a humbler, behind-the-scenes standpoint, so the glory doesn't go to me but the people are helped from my efforts. In addition, I'm learning to handle money and finances, which should ! prove t o be invaluable information for my future career. So really, this was the best place for me to be. I may never be district leader, zone leader, what have you, and honestly, I'm fine with that.

So, what do I do every day? First, I pay a lot of bills. Lots of bills that I get every day. Elder Anderson basically teaches me how to do one thing a day and then has me in charge of that for the rest of ever, while he takes care of everything else. Now that heºs sick, though, I should have significantly more work to do. Which is a good thing, because I'm ready to work. I am currently working on reimbursements for missionaries, which is one of missionaries' favorite things. They love me when I give them money.

The work is also going... ish. I don't even know a tenth of the members in this ward. I am going to try to concentrate on a few members per week and by the end of the six months I should know them all. This is definitely a less active area. That is what Elder Anderson concentrates on, and it seems like the investigator part gets shafted a little bit. There are a couple of things that I'd like to change here, like lack of planning and lack of proselyting, but I'm going to be more patient and cautious about it this time. After all, I've been here four days. Elder Bowen didn't take well to my walking in like I owned the place in Ermesinde, so I am thinking that I shouldn't do so here. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, but try to improve the city in the process. So I'm going to try to pick my battles and make slow and precise changes that will leave the place better than I found it. I'm trying to become friends with the people with whom I work. So it should all be a very good experience for me.

Venha o que vier,
Élder Carson Marsh

The Purpose of Leadership 09-15-08

2008-09-15T08:36:00.001-04:00

Okay, so in terms of the work, not a LOT has happened this week. We taught 12 lessons, mostly in two days time. A lot of what has been happening has been our adjustment time. Me adjusting to having a new Brasilian companion, and Elder Beltrão adjusting to everything else. It has been a challenge for us both, but Iºm very grateful that the Lord has given me such opportunities. Thereºs a section in the Missionary Manual on Missionary Leadership (and I am a missionary leader at the moment) that goes something like this:

Missionary Leadership positions should not be seen as a way to gain power or to measure personal progress, but as an opportunity ot serve others. Itºs interesting that upon reading this the first few times I disagreed with it. Obviously we shouldnºt seek leadership to exercise dominion over others or to gain power. Doctrine and Covenants 121 makes that very clear. But the measuring personal progress was a little bit harder for me to wrap my mind around. Before the mission having a leadership title was a simbol that you were doing well in something or another, be it school, sports, whatever. It usually means that youºre doing the right thing. In the Church, thatºs a little bit different. Desiring specific leadership positions is not a good thing. We donºt know what is going to be best for us. I fall into this trap A LOT. I see how leaders in the mission are studs. They help people all the time and receive revelation for them and are trusted. But they didnºt ask for those callings. What we have to focus on as members of the church is improving ourselves so that weºll be WORTHY to serve in ANY situation. The Lord will provide us plenty of opportunities as we wait patiently for Him to prove us worthy. But we all have special callings, even if that is only as a member of the Church. Letºs do them!

So I should really be focusing hard on getting my companion adjusted in every way possible to the work.

So those have been my thoughts this week. Has it worked immediately? Heck no. There have been times in which I have been way frustrated and Elder Beltrão has been way mad. But we are improving. We are finding that common ground. Elder Beltrão loves Chocolate Milk (AKA Elixir of Life) and he is way smart. So weºre working on it.

Anyways, I just got kicked off. So Iºll see yºall next week!

Carson Marsh, Élder

Stepping out onto the water take II 09-08-08

2008-09-08T09:59:00.000-04:00

Well, itÂºs training time again! Huzzah. Of course, I figured that as a seasoned Trainer, IÂºd already know what was coming my way. Hrrong!

My companionÂºs name is Elder Thales (Tails?) BeltrÃ£o, from Recife, Brazil. He really cool, yet the challenges with which I will have to deal are completely different than before. As always, I am left with the challenge of teaching a language. Elder BeltrÃ£o is probably the best English speaker of the 5 Brazilians that came in last Tuesday. Living with four missionaries including two Brasilian missionaries has its own challenges. When I was training Elder Yetter, he treated me like the Grand Master of the Universe on all things from the Portuguese language to the teaching of the gospel. Elder BeltrÃ£o already speaks the language, so thatÂºs gone. He also teaches really well when he gets in the zone, which is great for me. He has a fire for people: getting to know them, talking to them, etc., which is a really good thing. The challenges are these: IÂºm basically the only one of four who gets up at seven, Elder BeltrÃ£o is not a big fan of waking up, studies, or contacting. Same game, different players. I know that the Lord will work us through these challenges, just as He is helping my companion deal with mine, and we will both grow out of the process.

We have had some cool things happen here in Ermesinde A. Six less active members showed up to church this week! ThatÂºs the most that I have ever had! One of them just got made President of the Laurels, being one of only two young women in the branch. Another family showed up after we visited them once, so that was easy, as well as an older lady we visited once. Sometimes it just takes a little touch to make great things happen.

I am learning a lot from my new companion and the things that are going on around me. I am learning, for starters, to encourage rather than demand. To persuade rather than to shout. I am learning to accustom myself to a completely different culture quickly and to even integrate myself into it. After all, if I do not have my companionÂºs, he will not benefit from a yearÂºs worth of missionary experience. I am learning to motivate in simple ways, which may mean that I stay unable to make all the changes that I would like to in the time allotted. But the changes will be lasting ones. The handprint that I leave may not be a big one, but it will stay there.

In the MTC they told us that they would like for the name on the name tag to sink about two inches deeper, signifying that the name Jesus Christ and all that such a name signifies should leave a lasting impression on my heart. It should change me. I think that sometimes we take these things for granted, all the experiences that God gives us, all of the redeeming and enabling power that Christ gives us. Sometimes because we are on the right track, like Luke 7:47 (I think) says, he who is forgiven much loves much, and we end up forgetting Him. Rather, we should focus then on the enabling power that the Lord gives us. Let us do better, and allow the LordÂºs grace to have effect on us.

Venha o que vier,
Carson Marsh

Carson's New 09-02-08

2008-09-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

Elder Carson Marsh
Rua Clube Propaganda Natação Nº 25 3º Dtº
4445 Ermesinde
PORTUGAL

Does being raised by natives plus raising natives make me native? 09-02-08

2008-09-02T10:41:00.001-04:00

Emergency transfers!

Okay, first of all, I just want to recap the week. We got NO MISSIONARY WORK DONE. We had to move houses because the landlords of the house (who happen to be active members) are moving back from Switzerland, and they want us out. So out we go. Or rather, out we went. It took all of Friday to clean, all of Saturday to move, and we had to take all of Sunday to clean because Monday was P-day and Tuesday is...

Emergency Transfers!

Let the hecticness continue!

Neither Elder Bowen nor I are being transferred, yet we both are. Yesterday 6 Brazilian missionaries entered the country, and both myself and Elder Bowen are training one of them. Elder Bowen is the youngest American missionary I know to train here. Granted, heÂºs native and Elder Bowen will probably only stay here three more weeks, but still. ThatÂºs cool.

So, a recap on me and my companion this last transfer.

I think that I have had more disagreements with Elder Bowen than with any other companion so far in the mission, with the possible exception of Elder Nhancale. Oftentimes, it felt like we were just fighting each other, but more subtly than a normal disagreement. We are both very opinionated, very stubborn, and a little selfish. I am so grateful that I had this time to spend with him. I think that I have learned more in the past six weeks about relationships than I learned with any other companion. And heÂºs not leaving, per se, but he wonÂºt be my companion anymore. But chances are a lot more will get done here now that weÂºre working side by side instead of with each other. But I know that God gave me Elder Bowen for a reason. HeÂºs a great young man and a good missionary. And I have learned a lot about myself and the direction that I have to go.

But, since God likes blessing me, he gave me another native. I wonÂºt know until... about two hours from now who he is, but I know that heÂºs from Brazil. This will be my second time training, which is a rare opportunity for missionaries. IÂºm grateful for the opportunities that I have had on this mission. If IÂºm with this missionary for 2 and a half transfers, which is my guess, I will have spent half of my mission with someone who was born speaking Portuguese, and the other half teaching missionaries from what I learn. My Portuguese has had the opportunity to develop more than I ever imagined possible. I donÂºt know if IÂºve ever said this but foreign languages in school were by far my worst subject. I didnÂºt think that my brain worked in such a way as to allow for foreign language learning. Yet now IÂºm recognized mission-wide as one of those "crazy-good speakers". ItÂºs not quite as noticable because IÂºm getting old now. But no matter what the mission has in store for me, I will work hard to the very end. Okay, except maybe the last seven days ;)

My message today for you all is this: Be unselfish. Better yet. Be selfless. Think so little of what you want that when the opportunity comes to pick what you want itÂºs a shock to you and you donÂºt know what to do. Spend time thinking about what your loved ones want, and never forget to thank them profusely when they think of you. If we can show that to others, Zion will begin to form.

Taking a step on the seesaw 08-25-08

2008-08-26T23:21:00.000-04:00

Things are going really well, and not really well at the same time. We are preparing for great things, yet great things are happening right before our eyes. Elder Bowen and I are now a united companionship yet there is still a balance to work out.

So now hereºs the explanation.

I have had more talks with Elder Bowen on things than with any other missionary ever. And weºve only been together about four weeks. It requires a lot of question asking and patient listening to find the real problem. For instance, I had to get from "I donºt want to talk about home anymore" to "I feel like a useless missionary" and the like. I didnºt realize how big a missionaryºs shadow can affect another. Iºve never had a problem with feeling inadequate in comparison to another missionary. When I was trained and I felt language inadequacy, it was okay because my trainer didnºt know how to contact or do anything like that, so I felt useful. Ever since Elder Nhancale left I have been teaching Portuguese. So Iºm kind of dealing with something that is completely different that the way that I am used to thinking. Ever since I arrived here in Ermesinde I have been kind of supercharged. I talk to everyone. I want change to happen. Maybe a little too much change in too little time. I have never felt this type of energy here on the mission. But it is really affecting my companion. He feels like he has to live up to me, and he doesnºt see value in the things that he does. Heºs a great missionary; we just do things differently. So now Iºm left with a balance question. Do I take a step back on missionary work so that my "shadow" wonºt be so big, thereby frustrating myself but pleasing my compaion, and try to work both of us up together, or do I continue as is, attempting to pull my companion up to where he wants to be instead of pushing him. Itºs a delicate balance. I love to talk to people. Teaching is my favorite thing to do. And we are finding success. We had Sérgio (who we will continue to have in September after he gets married) We found a younger couple who will want a Book of Mormon in September, and we will go deliver it to them. We have a bunch of people to call, and a new investigator named Hélder (pronounced Elder... really hard here in Portugal cuz people just think that our names are all Hélder) Yet my companion is not happy. He feels useless or even tagalong. We do not want this. So we have to compromise. Do things his way part of the time, and things my way another part of the time. You would think that the REAL balance would be to have us both love what weºre doing all the time. But that develops over time. Sometimes a good old drawn line is the way that a friendship, companionship, whatever, develops, and we have to be willing to recognize that. My scripture for the day is Alma 38. I think itºs verse 12. Alma exhorts his son to use boldness, but not overbearance. I have to allow my companion some leadership position, but I have to also use boldness in getting done what I know works. And God is showering us with blessings. This week, we had three less actives and two investigators in church. We did not visit any of those people this week. They just came. Just one simple reminder to me that weºre not alone.

We are not alone.

-Carson Marsh

P.S. Transfer calls and Zone conference are coming up. So look forward to a lot of information next week.

Keeping Power and Influence 08-18-08

2008-08-18T09:01:00.000-04:00

So really, not much has happened this week, except for our interviews with President Henry. Weºre moving out in two weeks for another apartment. But anyways, Iºm not sure how much time I have exactly, so Iºll try to make this quick.

My companion, Elder Bowen, and I have very different ideas on everything. And I mean everything. Because of that, it is sometimes difficult to work together. It felt, many times, that we were pushing against each other trying to get things done in the best way possible. I always thought that if I just kept on doing what I felt to be right, he would eventually get the picture.

So then in my interview with President Henry we discovered that there would be two more missionaries entering the city of Ermesinde in two weeks. Whether the two of us will be split up or not, I donºt know, but whatever happens, I wanted to be completely okay with my companion before then. Sometimes he would do things that really annoyed me, but a quiet voice, when I listened to it, would always tell me just to be patient.

Iºve finally figured out the answer. It isnºt his problem, itºs my problem that I have to worry about. I read in Doctrine and Covenants 121 today and thought about the importance of what was said. It really helped to give me a peace of mind. I have a calling right now, as a priesthood holder, to be senior companion. Or really, just to be a companion. That means that I have to apply the principles therein. I have to influence with patience, kindness, and love unfeigned. That means that Iºm going to have to do as Mormon directs and pray with all of the energy of my heart to be filled with said love. Then Iºm going to have to wait. If everything doesnºt change in the first day, itºs okay. Things will work out if I spend enough time trying to figure out how I should change, what I should do, rather than only thinking on how I want HIM to change.

We have a new investigator! Heºs really cool. His name is Sérgio, and he has an angel of an almost-daughter named Júlia. We talked to him in the park and he was just taking her out to spend some time with her. We marked an appointment to stop by. So we went, and he wasnºt there. Elder Bowen figured that was it, and I was at least thinking that today wouldnºt work, when Júlia showed up on her bicycle and started waving and smiling frantically at us. She said, "I donºt know where my dad is. Maybe heºs in the bathroom. Iºll go get him." Then she disappears. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. By that point even IºM thinking that the guy didnºt want anything and told Júlia not to talk to us anymore. But about 20 or so minutes later he shows up with her, apologizing profusely. Heºs trying to work out marriage papers with his girlfriend, the mother of Júlia. He loves that family like none other, and every time we talked about Júlia, heºd talk about how blessed he was to be with them right now. We only really got in a five minute lesson, but we are going to go back to teach today. So what would have happened if we had left? We would have lost an investigator. One more reason that patience, faith, and a little bit of hope are often required to really make things happen. Sometimes it will feel that we are wasting our time. But weºre not. God didnºt not call us here to waste our time. He called us here to change lives. Including our own.

Venha o que vier,

Elder Carson Marsh

Letter Home 08-04-08

2008-08-11T18:05:00.001-04:00

4 Agosto 2008

Ola familla!

First of all, I'm sorry that this didn't get to you all on Monday. I simply didn't have enough time to do the week any justice. So, let us begin!

Monday night of last week (July 21st, I think), the Assistants called us, informing us that both Elder Bowen and I would be participating in the mini-missionary program. I would be receiving a Jeae Vasco Jesus, a 16-year old from Leiria, from a solid family in the gospel, while Elder Bowen would be getting Irmai [Brother][ Rodriques, a good kid from Braga who just needed a bit of push to go on a mission. The AP's told us that we should stock our days with appointments; which would be difficult since there were two of us and the members either didn't cooperate much with missionaries or were out for summer vacation. But, we did our best, and I think that we ended up with enough for constant appointments for 1 companionship. So here's the break-down of how it went, Thursday--today.

Thursday:
Thursday was basically our Mini-Mission Preparation Day. We went in for orientation with our mission president, who stressed the importance of this week for the future of the Church in Portugal. He told us that we would be preparing the future leaders in Portugal. We needed to have a good attitude in helping people, using all of our resources to make it the best experience possible for them. After all, they could end up being the future missionaries of this land. We are to give them the vision of missionary work. President and the Assistants assured us that we were chosen by revelation to be with certain people and that there was a reason for it. So, basically, we were under no pressure whatsoever and we didn't in any way spend the rest of the day frantically trying to plan every detail for the upcoming four days.

Friday:
So on Friday, we finally met the "contestants" Irmao Jesus, or "Brother Jesus," as my companion was called, reminded me a lot of me at that age: really nerdy and really shy. He spoke just about perfect English, so it was pretty easy for me. We had a "district meeting" in which we learned more about what it is that missionaries teach, and then we went off to our areas. Elder Bowen's companion never showed up, so Elder Panes, the AP, gave him his, Elder Silva. Let me just say that Elder Silva is a stud. This was his second mini-mission, and he has a rock-solid will to work and spread the gospel. Irmao Jesus and I arrived at our first appointment, Maria and Clara. Clara, the daughter, was really cool and had read until Alma. Maria was also cool, but she relied a lot on traditions. She was convinced that the only way to receive forgiveness of sins was to recite a memorized prayer. She was also equally convinced that our attempts to communicate with God through prayer were thus inadequate. Irmao Jesus bore a solid testimony to them, and then we left after he said a prayer. He really was a good teacher once he got going; he just needed the opportunity. It really bothered him that people made fun of the missionaries. I guess it never really phased me, but it got to him. I tried to explain to him that we need to love everyone regardless of their actions towards us, and I do think that he improved. I myself learned that it's not my responsibility to change someone completely in a day, but rather just to simply influence for good.

Saturday:
We started Saturday as we would a normal missionary day. Exercises--Irmao Jesus really liked that--he's into martial arts (ninjitsu in particular)--breakfast, then studies. We went to Porto again to have "Zone Conference" followed by a street meeting and the beginning of our fast. The Street Meeting was good; Irmao Jesus, like me at the beginning of my mission, was very apprehensive about talking to people. However, he tried and we did end up with three references for the Porto Elders. He was still pretty shy about it, but he did get better. After the street meeting, we returned to Ermesinde. Now this process of guiding someone around who had never set foot in Ermesinde before was both incredibly challenging for me and incredibly useful for me, as I'd only been there a week. We headed over to the house of the newly called Branch President, Jaime Azevedo, on directions that Elder Bowen gave me; I'd never been there before. This was probably the best opportunity that Iramo Jesus had to teach. He talked about what it meant to be a disciple of Christ. We ended up with 2 references from the Prez. and we left the house feeling pretty good. The rest of the day was a little bit of knocking and a bit of contacting and then we prepared for Sunday.

Sunday:
I'm running out of time, so this one'll be short. Sunday was fast and testimony meeting, and all four of us stood up to bear testimony. It was a really good Sunday, despite the lack of people who came. Then we went to former Branch President Naiore's for lunch and broke our fast. Mmmm...homemade cooking. Then we went to Porto so that our comps could have interviews with their stake presidents. After that, we went to go see Alice, a less-active. A friend of hers was there, and we ended up teaching her the 1st and 2nd lessons. Then we went to talk to Mirian, which was also good. I got the chance to get to know Irmas Silva a little better as well. His father died fairly recently, making his testimony of the plan of salvation that much more powerful. It was a good way to end the week.

Monday:
And then there was today. We arrived at 10 for a testimony meeting. Almost all of the mini-missionaries bore testimony, some relating on experience, others sharing something that they learned. Irmas Jesus was struggling the whole time with his fear to stand up there and talk and in the end he didn't end up going, but I don't think that it was for lack of wanting to. He has a great testimony of this gospel and although he did not say it in that day, he knows that Christ lives. He learned in those few days to work hard, how to love other people, and how to love God. It was a good experience for all, and I am glad that I was chosen to be a part of it.

Well, my P-day is over, so I got to go! Enjoy!

Love,

Elder Carson Marsh

Come home on a stretcher 08-11-08

2008-08-11T10:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, so sorry about last week. Hopefully no one wants to kill me nor has stopped following the Saga that is my life. IÂºll try to make up for it but I canÂºt promise anything as I could get kicked off at any moment. Hopefully my letter to the family has already gotten there and IÂºll be able to come up with something that slightly resembles Cool.

So my mind is blasted this week. We have worked incredibly hard. My companion is like, dead this week. Because of the holidays, almost no one is at home, and so the majority of our work consists of proselyting, and even that is difficult at best because of the parties and what not that are going on (itÂºs a city holiday this week for some Patron Saint or something) So weÂºre running around trying to talk to anyone who will listen to us.

I have learned today that I have to work within the set bounds. Every time itÂºs going to be a little bit different, every companionship and every area, and I have to learn to adjust. Kind of like DarwinÂºs theory. ItÂºs not the strongest that survive, but the ones most able to change. For example, my companion is not used to working as hard as I have him work. I go around all over the place talking to people, lots of people, because thatÂºs what I have discovered personally that works. But Elder Bowen hasnÂºt necessarily discovered that for himself yet. He has much less time on the mission, fewer companions and less experience. I cannot expect to just say, Look, this is how it works and be on with it. ThatÂºs not how God works with us. He lets us figure it out. He works WITH us, not through us. Okay, He also works through us to the benefit of others. But servents of God always get a reserved seat in the front row of GodÂºs revelations. And He will always work with us in the way that works. And so I may have to relax a little bit to not kill my companion. But the both of us will learn. And IÂºm not saying that I always have the right answers, either. But I am saying that what I need to do now is focus on building a unity within this new companionship (and yes, weÂºve been together 2 and a half weeks now, and transfer calls are not going to change anything) and then we can both move forward with a power that exceeds anything that I could do alone. Inner vessel first. ThatÂºs always how it works. And we are about doing what works.

We received four new investigators this week, which is good because we only really have one investigator who is not out on holiday. By the time everyone gets back, IÂºll probably be the only one here who has met them- and there are even people with whom we are working that I havenÂºt met, but I have faith that everything will work out with them. Our job right now is to make every preparation possible for the future. And so thatÂºs what weÂºre doing. WeÂºre talking to the world, and because of that, we are going to have plenty of sheaves come September.

I gave a talk yesterday on how we can each receive our own reward, or "sheaves", for the work that we do (see Alma 26:5). Many times it is greater personal growth. Many times it is a remission of sins or protection for oneÂºs family. (see the LordÂºs promise to another called Elder Marsh, D&C 31). But we will always be worthy to receive GodÂºs Spirit and His revelation when we do His work.

So, I feel good.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

Sorry! 08-05-08

2008-08-05T11:02:00.001-04:00

Hey guys. This is going to be a terrible email. Theyºre kicking me off early. A lot happened this week, too. So hereºs the deal. Iºm going to write a letter and ask that my dad type it up and email it to you all, so youºll have to wait a couple of days for the real email. Sorry Sarah as well, I know I couldnºt get anything out to you this week, it wasnºt because I didnºt want to.

Have a great week, everyone!

Carson

Wanderer in a strange land/Taking a step downhill, I find itÂºs very steep 07-28-08

2008-07-28T08:31:00.000-04:00

Here I am in Ermesinde. IÂºm with Elder Bowen now, who is apparently the King of Deep Doctrine Conversations. WeÂºve had a couple of interesting talks. ItÂºs a good thing.

IÂºm almost out of time, so IÂºll just talk a bit about Ermesinde and then copy paste that AWOL post you all never seem to get. Sorrry. That is also the reason for the dual title today.

Before I forget:

Rua Elias Garcia
NÂº 1044 4Âº Dto Tras
4445 Ermesinde
PORTUGAL

Now you have no excuses.

So, when I first got here, I felt soo lost. Like I couldnÂºt do anything, or that I was useless. But thatÂºs gone now. Ermesinde is a good branch. There are a good number of people here, and IÂºm excited about the possibilities for growth.

We had a baptism on Saturday! That was by far, the easiest baptism IÂºve ever had. Her name is MÃrian, and she is 10 years old. All I had to do was show up (the teaching had been done by other missionaries), give a talk on the Holy Ghost, and lead the music. Huzzah. Actually, when we were there, a lady who lives with a member happened to show up, and she loved it. She even asked to take home a pamphlet of her own free will! That doesnÂºt happen too often. WeÂºll see where that goes.

As of right now, we really only have one progressing investigator, but that just means that we have some work to do. After my time in Viana I have become convinced that if we work hard and work smart, we can get things done no matter where we are. If we focus on talking to people on the streets and asking for references, we will get a lot of noÂºs, but also a lot of yesÂºs.

Ermesinde is also a less active ara, like the Foz. ThatÂºs life. But I know that IÂºm here for a reason. IÂºm probably here because some less actives will be able to be reactivated because of what I have to offer to this area. Others are waiting for a different missionary with a different personality. And IÂºm okay with that. I will give what I have and then be okay with the rest. God will take care of it.

okay I just got kicked off.

Until next week!

CArson

Apparently server problems impeded this from getting to yÂºall last week. Here it is again, with all kinds of apologies.

Okay, so. For starters. My week is completely moving around. P-Day is no longer on Thursday. So this will mean changes for all of you.

IÂºll just tell yÂºall the whole thing, and if youÂºre not interested, just know that I will now be writing to you all on Mondays (including this upcoming one) instead of Thursdays. 2 pdays this week; yay!

Monday: P-Day and family night
Tuesday: regular work day
Wednesday: District meeting day
Thursday: Weekly planning day
Friday: Regular work day
Saturday: Regular work day
Sunday: Church. Visit members.

Okay, so that announcement is taken care of. Write me this Sunday or sooner if you want me to respond before two mondays from now.

Okay, that having been said, IÂºm going to bear my testimony for all of you. I promised that I would do it upon the reaching of my year mark, which happened on Friday. One year from today I will be heading home on an airplane. Whoa. Even if I hadnÂºt promised that I would write to you all about my testimony, I would write now anyways because we focused on the power of our testimonies in Zone conference and it was really powerful for me. Share your testimonies with others. ItÂºs the most important thing youÂºve got in this world.

So, the following is my testimony. The wording changes from time to time, but the idea is the same. And I hope that its meaning for you will always exist.

I am Carson Marsh.

I am a child of God.

And that doesnÂºt meant that IÂºm just some number to Him.

If I were to stand in a group of one thousand, two thousand people, no one in this world would be able to pick me out from the crowd.

But He can.

And every once in a while, when IÂºve done good, he calls me out and picks me among the billions and says, "ThatÂºs Carson! ThatÂºs my son! I want to bless him and make him happy." And so I am happy. ItÂºs as simple as that.IÂºm not someone who can impress people with my amazing wording or speech. Even with the few talents I posess IÂºm nothing compared to others in this world. But IÂºm everything to my Father in Heaven, and His Son, my brother who cares for me just as much. I donÂºt plan to make any one person believe with what I say here right now. I donÂºt think that I can; IÂºm not that good. But you all WILL know by the end that I know. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind at this moment that what I have just told you is true. IÂºve felt it for myself, and denying that, like denying anything else which is fact, is stupid. To avoid being stupid, IÂºm going to tell you exactly what I know, which is that I donÂºt pray at night to an idea. I receive revelation from God. And, who knows, perhaps there are a series of events that could take place in my body and in my mind to fake every single one of the amazing and marvelous things that I have felt, the greatest of which being something most people take for granted and take for mysterious: happiness. I am happy. You may think that strange. I work over 12 hours a day 6 days a week, and on the seventh day I still work 3 hours. I make no money, and no one here even knows my first name.

But He does.

Jesus Christ is love. When we think of God we think of an idea so abstract that it cannot be mastered, but when we see Him in the face or read His teachings we find them somehow imperfect. Well, okay. Perhaps God doesnÂºt speak to me with a thunderous voice that only says things that are indisputably one hundred percent perfect. ThatÂºs because thatÂºs not how it works. He speaks to me, and what I can understand. Later, heÂºll increase my understanding so that I know why it was how it was at that time, if there are exceptions to what He said and if I need them. All I can tell you is that IÂºm learning of life, and getting better at it. There is not a single teaching that the Lord has given me that has not improved me.

I am Carson Marsh.

IÂºm nothing more than any of you.

But I AM a child of God.

And I feel Him.

And IÂºll be standing by Him here and there, now and then, and whenever I doubt, IÂªll remember the feelings I felt, and how much comfort they gave me, not from my own source, but from something outside that I canÂºt replicate. And so it will still be the truth, and it will always be available to me.

And so I, Carson Marsh, will always know.

Ambushed by Emergency Transfers! 07-21-08

2008-07-21T08:16:00.001-04:00

Hey guys, so I guess you all probably didnÂºt think that I was going to be sending an email today, since you didnÂºt get my last email telling you that it would be on Mondays from now on. So write me on Sundays from now on instead of Wednesdays if thatÂºs what you did, k? Fine.

K so the subject line has probably given it away. IÂºm getting transferred. I found out on Saturday as I was painting FÃ¡timaÂºs door that I would be going to Ermesinde on Thursday to be with Elder Bowen, one of the Elders from Elder YetterÂºs MTC district. Ermesinde is going to be a big change from Viana.
ItÂºs inner-city and right next to Porto. The branch is small, just like Viana, but apparently a grand majority of it is one family. Grandmother with four kids each of whom are married with kids of his or her own. Fine.

The reason that I was transferred is that four Elders are going home three weeks early to have sufficient time for school. So as a result, President decided to change EVERYTHING around. Almost no one stayed the same. And in six weeks (the middle of next transfer) weÂºre going to be getting six elders from Brasil, so weÂºre going to change around AGAIN, which basically means that until the end of September weÂºre going to be having transfers every three weeks. So who knows what will happen.

This last transfer and a half has been the best of my mission thus far. After Elder Yetter and I got through the first transfer together, we had a blast. I have eaten soo much, learned soo much, laughed soo much, and it has really been a great time. IÂºm sorry to be leaving.

On the other hand, IÂºm excited to start anew. Change is necessary sometimes to give us a fresh view on things and to concentrate ourselves on new purposes, new ideas, and new people. IÂºm going to miss FÃ¡tima, CÃ¡tia and Eduardo a lot. IÂºm sad that I didnÂºt get a chance to do everything with DÃ©bora that I had wanted to do, as well as with Estela and her family. But I know that God wants me in Ermesinde, and that he will provide a way for me to have success if I will do my best. I have grown a lot in these last five months, or at least IÂºd like to think that I have. I want to apply that in the upcoming months on my mission.

President Henry said something that made me think during our last interview. He said,

"YouÂºve been here a while, havenÂºt you? One year in the country, right?"

I responded, "No, I have a year on the mission. Ten months in the country."

"Oh, thatÂºs good. YouÂºve still got time then. I worry when missionaries start to have ten months left, or eight months left, but youÂºve still got a year left. Good."

So that got me thinking. IÂºve still got time left. To do what? My best in this work. I donÂºt know whatÂºs in store for me, but IÂºve learned to work a lot harder and a lot smarter, and IÂºm going to apply that to the branch in Ermesinde. I want to do better. IÂºm excited for what comes next.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

A series of unfortunate events 07-10-08

2008-07-10T09:38:00.001-04:00

Okay, itÂºs not nearly as bad as the subject line makes it sound. But it seemed like a good opportunity to write that down, so I did.

Okay, so last week I talked about how we had the best missionary week ever. It was pretty cool. One thing that I find about really good experiences is that in order to preserve their worth, they are contrasted by not-so-good experiences so that we can look back and say, "Wow, that really WAS a good week!"

So, first off, CÃ¡tia is really sick. She had to get a blessing this Sunday, and because of her sickness, she has not been to church in four weeks.

Second off, many of the new investigators that we found last week didnÂºt exist.

Third off, FÃ¡tima was not feeling so good a little while after her baptism. CÃ¡tia thought that she might be breaking some commandments, although FÃ¡tima denies doing so.

Fourth off, FÃ¡tima and CÃ¡tiaÂºs dog got hit by a car and died. It made the whole family really upset and we couldnÂºt really do anything about it.

Fifth off, Karin, our one less active member, is angry at the world and wonÂºt do anything.

Okay, so sounds pretty bad, right? Well, IÂºm not here to talk to you about how bad my life is or complain about the events currently surrounding my life. Because thatÂºs not what God wants us to do. He wants us to look at it from the right angle. So letÂºs do that.

First off, CÃ¡tia is feeling a LOT better about her health. She said, "If I hadnÂºt had faith, it wouldnÂºt have worked, right? But I feel better!"

Second off, we found a bunch of new investigators this week as well. In fact, this week was another great week numbers-wise, for we found a lot of people who were willing to give us a listen.

Third off, we had a really good lesson with FÃ¡tima and CÃ¡tia about obedience to the commandments. The Spirit was there, and I think that all present had a stronger conviction to keep the commandments, including myself.

Fourth off, FÃ¡tima and CÃ¡tiaÂºs dog was REALLY old. Like over twenty years. It looked like it was suffering just by living. Honestly, I think that that was probably the best thing that could have happened rather than having everyone suffer worse by watching its pain. The great thing is that we have the plan of salvation in front of us, and IsaiahÂºs explanation of heaven includes all of GodÂºs creations.

Fifth off, we have finally gotten down to the heart of KarinÂºs problem (the lower part of the iceberg for those of you with Preach My Gospel) and we will now be able to help her better. We also got the Visiting Teachers problem resolved, so we should be able to get good influences for her in many places.

So, if you think about it, the week wasnÂºt so bad after all.

I am not going to give you all my testimony this week. Wait until next week. Technically, my year mark day isnÂºt until tomorrow, and I havenÂºt received anyone elseÂºs testimonies either. But youÂºll get mine next week whether I get anything or not, for I promised. ItÂºs amazing to think that IÂºve already been out for a year. But enough about that. IÂºll talk about that next week.

I just want to close with a scripture. Ether 2:25. Really the brother of Jared is such a stud. He gets so much help from the Lord for his challenges. But the Lord doesnÂºt tell him everything that he should do. He asks, "What will ye that I should prepare for you" so that he could fight the challenges ahead of him. JaredÂºs brother had to think about the solution that he wanted from God and then pray. We have to do the same thing. I canÂºt always just say, "Help me have the Spirit when I teach Estela" but instead I can say, "Please prepare my mind during my studies so that I will be able to teach with power and authority". or "Please help me come up with a good study plan for Portuguese so that I can learn the language better." God will answer our prayers in a way that we can recognize them better if we are more specific in our requests. He loves us and wants to help us, but we have to take the first step. We have to think, and we have to pray.

Have a good week, everyone!

-Ã‰lder Carson Marsh

New Pictures from Portugal 07-02-2008

2008-07-03T11:07:00.008-04:00

This is a picture of Carson and his parents when he was 11 months old. This was just given to us by a friend of Carson's dad's who works with him.

One of the first days of Elder Yetters mission. His first Zone Conference. Elder Jacobe is there, too

Elder Lewis. He was our Zone Leader, but now heºs AP. Heºs a cool guy. So there.

This is the bridge to Spain. Weºre not! allowed to cross the borders or we have to go home. But we can get dangerously close!

This is a place that our branch president took us to. Some big castle; I forgot the name of it. So here you are.

This is why I shouldnºt be given anything that can hurt anyone. Although I suppose that Elder Jacobe had it coming.

I didnºt mean to add this one, but here it is. Elder Yetter and some scenery.

Elder Yetterºs camera is spiffy and can do color lock-ons. Heºs looking the wrong way.

The River that separates Spain and Portugal. Cool, eh?

President Neiva, Elder Jacobe, Elder Shaeffer, Elder Marsh

Doing what I do best

June 10th is Portugal Day, so everyone celebrates. It was hard to get anything accomplished that day. But there were some cool things going on. This is the Praça da Republica, where we like to do street meetings and buy Bolas de Berlim. Mmm... bolas de berlim...

Apparently my face melted while Elderes Yetter and Jacobe were trying to take a picture. It can get pretty hot here in Portugal...

Fireworks! There was a big Mideval celebration a while back and at the end of it there was a big fireworks show. Alineºs little sister Solange was part of it, and she made us buy her food... We saw jousting and swordfighting and... yeah. Hereºs some fireworks.

Baptism day! Elder Tidwell on the left baptized Fátima, while Eduardo was baptized by Elder Yetter. I guess it does pay to be tall and strong.

Elder Richards, our Zone Leader, with me and Fátima. Fátima made me stay by her for a lot of pictures. Itºs cool.

All The Elderes time! Fátima really loves the missionaries. Every time something didnºt work out on her baptismal program, she would just say, "Have an Elder do it. Any Elder is fine." She calls us her angels sometimes as well. The People in the picture, left to right: E.Cannavo, E.Yetter, Aline, Fátima, Lara, E.Tidwell, E.Anderson, E.Richards, E.Marsh. Elder Tidwell and Elder Anderson are the ones who first contacted Cátia in the park. Cool!

Post-Baptism picture. Eduardo, Cátia, Myself, Fátima. She still sounds really happy about the whole thing. I believe that she will be a strong member of the church, and the bishop in Póvoa is talking to Eduardo about serving a mission!

What the flip-flops?

uhm....

The District: Elder Jacobe, Elder Yetter, Elder Marsh, and our district leader, Elder Cannavo. Elder Jacobe just got transferred to Madeira (sad!) but the rest are staying. Elder Cannavoºs new companion will be Elder Smith, an Elder from Elder Yetterºs MTC district.

I didnºt know that you could get up to the roof of our chapel! Elder Yetter discovered it. Weºre planning on having a barbeque up there next p-day to celebrate my one year mark

Elder Yetter didnºt really want me to have the camera, apparently. Iºll have to watch out- he could probably hurt me.

The best missionary week ever 07-03-08

2008-07-03T08:15:00.000-04:00

So I guess that it depends on what you mean by the best week ever, right? Well, IÂºll explain what I meant, but first I suppose that I shall have to explain transfers, which is going to take a bit of explanation.

First off, IÂºm staying in Viana. And so is Elder Yetter. Out of the 12 training companionships, we were one of the only 2 to stay together for a third transfer. IÂºm not sure why that is since we get along really well. That sounds like a weird sentence, but in the mission, generally when you donÂºt like your companion is when you stay together for longer so that you can grow and learn how to handle difficult relationships. One of those life skills, you know? But we arenÂºt really learning that, unless you count dealing with Aline. But itÂºs cool; I certainly wonÂºt complain. I guess that just means that weÂºre under more pressure to learn more and get more accomplished this trasnsfer since weÂºre both familiar with the area and we donÂºt hate each otherÂºs guts.

That being said, this MAY not be a permenant stay. Because of school reasons, the three missionaries who were supposed to leave in August at the end of the transfer will be leaving in three weeks. ThatÂºs going to mess some things up, especially since one of them is an Assistant. So some things will get changed around. I donÂºt think that IÂºll be one of them, since thereÂºs no way that Elder Yetter or the PÃ³voa Elders could make a three-missionary companionship, as the distance is just too great, anything could happen. So I could be changing around, but probably wonÂºt. But since this will be my fourth transfer in Viana, chances are I will leave in August.

Okay, back to the week. So by the best missionary week I am referring to the numbers, but also to how the week went. Every week we report the numbers of things that happened during the week. These things include baptisms and confirmations, new investigators, lessons taught, etc. And for the first time in my mission there was not a single 0 in our numbers. Everything was high. And how did this happen, you may ask?

Well I think that part of it probably has to do with the fact that we did not really have a pday last thursday. We had two appointments in the middle of the day, after which point we had planned on chilling. But the appointment was a lot farther away than we thought. And we ended up talking to people on the way. So we finally get there and it doesnÂºt seem to exist (the house, I mean) So we end up talking to a lot of people and getting pointed to this cafÃ©. So we ask this guy for help and he tries to help us out but it just doesnÂºt seem like this place exists. But then the guy asks us who we are. When we tell him he goes back into the back of the cafÃ© and grabs a folder and puts it on the table. When he opens it up we see the church logo. It was a picture on a newspaper about geneology. Apparently this guy had spent a lot of time trying to find his ancestors. So we get to talking. Eventually we find out that he isnÂºt interested in anything having to do with religion, but that heÂºll go to Braga to check out the geneology. So we ask for references, you know, anyone he knows who might be interested. So he looks around, points to the lady standing next to him and says, "Yeah, she needs help." Awkward. But then she nodded and said, "yeah, I do." So we taught her the second lesson and have a return appointment this Saturday. A wild goose chase, and we didnÂºt end up finding the person for whom we were looking. But it was definitely gratifying.

Okay, so then Saturday! We had FÃ¡tima and EduardoÂºs baptism. It seemed from our end like everything went wrong, but luckily the Elderes in the backstage were the only ones that noticed that. FÃ¡tima said it was great, the senior missionary couple said that it was great, and IÂºm all kinds of excited. I had the opportunity to confirm her the next day, and from how she described her experience IÂºm sure that she is now a confirmed member of the church, and I feel that she will be one of those about whom IÂºll be talking for years.

So then we got to spend the night with Elder Tidwell, my previous companion in Viana, because he came up to perform the baptism. So we went to the first two meetings and then had to go to take him back to Leiria. But then an investigator called and said that she couldnÂºt meet with us at night, only in the afternoon. 1:30. So we decided to take the later train at 2:57 and get there. It takes about 30-40 minutes to get to our house from EstelaÂºs (the investigator) and so we figured that if we left at 2:15 weÂºd be safe. We left at 2:35. So we had to run the whole way pretty much, carrying our shoulder bags and everything. It was intense. But we all made it there at 2:55 and the train pulled up at 2: 56 and left at 2:57.

We then had a later meeting with Estela. Yesterday in fact. Estela has three daughters: Vanessa (18) Carina (15) and Madalena (11). But Carina has a friend her age from next door named SÃ³nia. She also liked hearing from us but Estela would always tell us how her mom doesnÂºt like us. So we tried to avoid that. But yesterday we were just talking in her doorway and the mom comes out. Well I figure this is it thatÂºs the last time that SÃ³nia is going to be able to meet with us. So I try to be friendly, and then she says "I heard you talking." And so I apologize for making so much noise when I talk (you all know IÂºm loud) and she says "I want to hear what you have to say." So after recovering from that turnaround I start to teach. She doesnÂºt really believe in the Catholic church or any church because she thinks that they are hypocritical, but she believes in God. So we talk for like an hour. And she says that next time we go to EstelaÂºs to teach, she and SÃ³nia want to participate as well. God really is preparing many of His children to hear the gospel.

After that we had to run again.

We were supposed to eat at FÃ¡timaÂºs at 9:00. But talking to that lady was much unexpected. So we get out of there at like 9:20. FÃ¡timaÂºs is even farther away from the train station. So we ended up getting there at 9:55 or so, and not home until 10:30. We were exhausted. WeÂºd been working and running almost all day. But it was so satisfying.

Last week we had 6 new investigators. This week so far we have 2. In the Foz IÂºve been entire transfers without a new investigator. So basically what I want to say is this. IÂºm so grateful to be here. The Lord is blessing us with success. Sure, this isnÂºt South America. I donÂºt have a baptism every week. But IÂºve seen what stalling looks like. And this ainÂºt it. This is the busiest time IÂºve had in my mission. And I didnÂºt have to be district leader or zone leader or whatever to get to that point. I didnÂºt have to be on Madeira Island or the so-called Best places on the mission (although i think that viana is the best area in the mission) The Lord has blessed us with success because even after Elder YetterÂºs greenieÂºs fire wore off, we still work hard. And we work smart. And now we have goals to do even better. Is it because of us that we are having success? Not a chance. But God sees our effort and grants unto us, His children, the chance to make a difference in the world.

Venha o que vier,

-Elder Carson Marsh

But If Not 06-26-08

2008-06-26T08:45:00.001-04:00

IÂºm stealing todayÂºs thought from my father. Apologies to him if this is a boring email.

Before I forget, mom, could you send me the prince of egypt soundtrack? Apparently thatÂºs allowed here, and I like it a lots. Thanks much.

Anyways, a lot happened this week and I have almost no time to relate it, despite the fact that I still have time. We have an appointment in 20 minutes and it takes about that much to walk there, so we may be a little bit late.
Fogo.

So Eduardo, CÃ¡tiaÂºs boyfriend, decided that he didnÂºt want to be baptized. So Elder Yetter and I talked to him, and then he decided that he DID want to be baptized again. But that makes me a bit uncomfortable, for his baptism is in two days. But heÂºs PÃ³voaÂºs investigator, not mine, so itÂºs not my job to worry about it, for thereÂºs nothing I can do, except pray that he doesnÂºt go inactive. FÃ¡tima, on the other hand, is doing great. She was another one of the reasons that Eduardo decided to go through with it (she talked to him afterwards) and said that sheÂºs going to go through with it, whether she feels nervous or not. I think that it was really big that she was there at CÃ¡tiaÂºs baptism, since she felt something really strong that day.

So, hereÂºs my thought before we take off. FÃ¡tima is getting baptized on Saturday. Around the same time in which we talked to Eduardo and werenÂºt sure that he was gonna do it, we decided that Eduarda really was finished with us (sheÂºs been avoiding us for some time now) and we hadnÂºt been able to get a hold of Estela. Well those were our big investigators. I donÂºt know how much you all remember of what happened six months ago, but it is basically the same thing that happened in the Foz. Right before transfers, Vanessa got baptized, Miguel dropped us and Elsa was unreachable, leaving us with no investigators. And it was a week before transfers, as it is right now. So, last time, I thought, "Well, thatÂºs okay, IÂºll just get transferred and then it wonÂºt matter, cuz it wonÂºt be my problem anymore" And then I didnÂºt, and I was really upset. It took me a long time to get back to work how I had been.

Now, I refer you to a scripture. Daniel 3:16-18. My boys Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-nego. They say something along the lines of, "My king, we are not careful in our response to you. If it be so, our God can save us from the fiery furnace, and he will rescue us, o King. BUT IF NOT, we will not bow down before your idols, nor worship your gods." They were not careful in their decision, which means that it wasnÂºt even a decision, they didnÂºt have to think about it, they just did it. And they believed that God would deliver them, but EVEN IF HE DIDNÂºT! They were still going to be loyal to Him and follow Him, until the end of their lives. And then of course He did deliver them.

So, back to my story. So, same situation as last time, but my mentality was different. I didnÂºt care what happened, for I knew that with hard work and prayer, we can get the results that God expects of us. For God would give it unto us. BUT EVEN IF HE DIDNÂºT, I would still be faithful to my calling, transferred or not.

So, then, hereÂºs what happened.
1. Eduardo decided that he did want to be baptized.
2. We met with Estela, and she and her three daughters should be coming to the ward activity tomorrow.
3. In the past 3 days weÂºve picked up five new investigators.

So, thereÂºs results for you. And who knows? I may end up not "sneaking past transfers" anyway (a Nate Whiteism) I want to stay, but I also know that wherever God sends me, the same principles apply. God will bless our lives with success when we do as He says.

But if Not.

We shall still be faithful, and our reward will come.

-Elder Carson Marsh

An apparently needed Slack Off 06-19-08

2008-06-19T12:23:00.001-04:00

Well, sort of. IÂºll explain.

This week PÃ³voa really needed our help. So we ended up staying there from Monday until Wednesday. Turns out what they needed our help with was making cookies and delivering them to people. Which is a valid use of time. But we ended up taking until 5:30 to make the cookies. I was pretty much just sitting there thinking "Ugh. We just ate a whole bunch of junk for the past two days (we tend to do that on district days, and we slept over! I was so stuffed with junk!) and I have no energy. I just want to go to bed." And while I was doing what I was supposed to, I felt like a huge slacker, and I had a bad attitude about it. So then we were going to go home for an appointment tuesday night, but she cancelled last minute before we were going to get on the bus and so we called and asked if they needed help and they said "Yes please get over here now we need you! You need to be at the metro stop in 10 minutes!" Well, it usually takes 20 minutes to get there, and we had all of our stuff with us--enough to stay the night and everything-- so we booked it on straight sugar. And IÂºm gonna tell you right now, it was the best mood IÂºd been in the whole day. I thought, "IÂºm actually doing something productive. WeÂºre never going to make it. Wheee!" And then someone started yelling and hitting the metro because he couldnÂºt get a ticket so they waited 2 more minutes so we made it. I was so dead. But it was gratifying.

The message? 1. Eat healthy 2. DonÂºt waste your day, although this time it was good cuz it motivated me to keep going.

Then we had to change the place of FÃ¡timaÂºs baptism. People got mad at us for being irresponsible and IrmÃ£o Pereira went with us to help us talk to FÃ¡tima. We could have done it ourselves, but whatever. I had to learn really well what it meant to be patient with other people. Granted, we werenÂºt perfect, but it felt like they were yelling at us about how to do our job when they werenÂºt doing theirs (like informing us that they couldnÂºt go to Braga...) and we had to be calm. It was a good experience for me because thatÂºs one of my weak points: keeping my mouth shut when it needs to be.

Anyways, FÃ¡timaÂºs baptism is in a week and two days, and IÂºm all kinds of excited. Pictures will follow.

Gotta go... IÂºve not had lunch yet and weÂºve gotta get going today to get places. My challenge to all of you is to listen to people this week, for it is the teaching skill that IÂªm trying to develop this week as well. How can we listen to people? What can we learn from them? How can we take what they say to help them understand what we have to say? What really matters to people? If you have Preach My Gospel, read the section on Listen in chapter 10. ItÂºs a good thing.

Venha o que vier,

Elder Marsh

I am meek and lowly of heart... well okay IÂªM not 06-12-08

2008-06-13T03:25:00.001-04:00

Hi!

ItÂºs me again!

One more week gone, and the transfer is half over! It seems really weird. But enough about that.

On to things!

I donÂºt think that I ever told you last week about our service project. Our Norweigan lady, Karin, had recently allowed crazy Lisete (for more information on crazy Lisete, see *) move in to her house. She had been keeping LiseteÂºs dog in for a while Lisete was hospitalized (she broke her elbow) and then Lisete went to live with her. Two crazy sick people in the same house that donÂºt
really speak each otherÂºs language. Oh the insanity. But anyways Lisete had to move up three floors, so we volunteered to help. But then there was this big 500 pound (yes, IÂºm completely making that number up. It could very well have been only 200 pounds. But 500 sounds much better) cabinet that Lisete asked us to move up the stairs and then changed her mind, saying, "ItÂºs too heavy. You couldn't possibly move that up the stairs. Well that sounded like a challenge, and you know teenaged boys. So we lifted it. And it was heavy, but more so it was awkward, and the staircases were spiral. So it was all sorts of hard, but we got it! Yes, we almost died. But was it worth it? Absolutely.

*Lisete is this crazy investigator that likes to try to speak english. She was found about 8 months ago and would always come to church with her dog and it was insane. When I got here she disappeared. She had been in the hospital in Lisbon for two months, and then when she got here, she had to go to the hospital again for psychiatric reasons. Then she fell and broke her elbow in KarinÂºs house. Needless to say, every time we go over there, I expect everything possible to happen, and now that theyÂºre living together, well, itÂºs fun.

We also had Zone conference this week with the new Area 70. It was really cool, and IÂºll probably talk more about that in the future, but I learned a lot of things. I also learned a lot from my interview with President, and it really seems like Viana do Castelo is on track. We have things to improve on, but we are about where we need to be.

However, since I donÂºt have much time, IÂºll skip to the third thing that has given me direction this week. I have been going over the Christ-like Attribute test to see where I need to be improving, only to find that there were things that I needed to be doing in every area. Fun. But it is kind of cool cuz having direction is so much better than not having direction because it makes life interesting. So today I did humility. Well, I figured that it would be one of my stronger ones because I had been working on it for so long back when I was at the Foz. Well, like usual, I was wrong yet again. It seems to be my weakest suit. I read the scripture where Jesus says that he is meek and lowly in heart; therefore, we should follow Him (Matthew 11:39? Somewhere around there) and I just stared at it for a while trying to figure it out. What does meek and lowly and heart even MEAN? Why would that make people more likely to follow Him? Anyways, so I finally arrived at the following conclusion. Humility is hard. People in general, like to be justified. Heck, I want to think that IÂºm exactly on where I need to be to get my ticket to Heaven. But it doesnÂºt quite work that way. We as missionaries work really hard, especially to overcome our weaknesses (see Ether 12:27) and to make ourselves better. ThatÂºs the whole point of life, isnÂºt it? Well, it doesnÂºt say that, exactly. It says that this life is the time to prepare to meet God (see Alma 34:32) and not that this life is the time to become perfect or to be stronger than everyone else or to be smarter than everyone else, but to be prepared to meet God. Well, okay, but we still are trying to make our weaknesses strengths, arenÂºt we? We want to get better, but afterwards we want to BE better. We manage to ride the bike for a few seconds without falling so we think that we can manage by ourselves forever. Basically, we want to get to the point where we donÂºt need God to do it for us. And accepting that that isnÂºt going to happen in this life is one of the hardest things for me to do. Why? Because it makes us all equal. I may be riding on the cobblestone while someone else is only riding on the asphalt, but in the end weÂºre still both about to fall without our FatherÂºs hands stablizing us anyways, so in the end the fact that I may be a little bit stronger or smarter or better at something than anyone else doesnÂºt justify my existance more than anyone elseÂºs. The playing field, in the end, is exactly equal. The only claim to fame that I have is that I am a child of God, and until long after this old body hits the floor for the last time, I wonÂºt be able to sustain myself. As Joseph Smith puts it, I canÂºt have faith in myself alone, because IÂºm not that knowledgable nor powerful. I have to put my faith in Someone who CAN do it. Just because God may call me to a position or may not doesnÂºt mean that IÂºm more on the right track than someone else.

So how do we know that we ARE on the right track? How can we justify ourselves or our existance?

IÂºll let you all think about that one and IÂºll give MY response next week.

...

If I remember.

Venha o que vier,
Ã‰lder Carson Marsh

CourtneyÂºs idea 06-05-08

2008-06-05T18:45:00.001-04:00

ItÂºs that time of the... wait, this hasnÂºt happened before.

Ah well.

So, Courtney had this idea, about which sheÂºs probably already forgotten, but I didnÂºt! So now IÂºm going to share it with all of you, because.

Drum roll!

Before I write back to you all, I will have hit my eleventh month mark on the misson! Huzzah! This means that in about five weeks, actually, five weeks and a day, I will hit my year mark on the mission! Time does fly by, doesnÂºt it?

So, CourtneyÂºs idea.

When I got testimonies from all of you (people who wrote including Janae, Mom, Dad, Eleisha, Lauren, Lauren (not my sister), Amy O, Courtney, and I think thatÂºs it) Courtney suggested that to see how people grow over time that I ask everyone to do it again in a year or so. Well, since I KNOW youÂºre all disorganized and since travel time for letters is a bit, IÂºm going to make that invite now! I want all of you to send me your testimonies. Again! Because everyone could use a good testimony to strengthen him/her (him in my case) now and again. When my year mark happens, I will then share my testimony with all of you.

Deal? I thought so.

So, we have a new investigator family! We contacted this lady Estela (donÂºt think I mentioned her last week) on the street and she said we could stop by after about an hour and a half conversation. So we figured, hey, worth a shot, so we googlemapped the address and tried it. Only googlemaps was way off. After we had wandered off for a while, we called and ended up having to get a ride there. But we finally got there and she had two daughters with her, Carina and Vanessa, along with a friend of CarinaÂºs. On the way there, Vanessa was listening to some loud portugese music and we figured "great. This isnÂºt going to go well" but she was by far the most interested one. They loved making fun of our Portuguese and listening to us speak English. ItÂºs cool.

Tomorrow we go down for Zone Conference and we get to hear from a member of the 70! Cool! Thus, I should have a lot to talk about next week. But until then IÂºll just leave you all with this spiritual thought.

I have a new favorite scripture. ItÂºs in Ether 12:4 and says something along the lines of "And if ye believe in God ye shall have hope for a better world, and even moreso, to stand at the right hand of God and be accepted into His glory, which hope is the anchor of our souls." Not only do we have hope for good things after this life, which we often think of as salvation, but we believe in the idea that we can make a difference in this world. We have an
investigator Sofia that is always telling us that the world is so bad and that neither she nor we can make that big a difference in it. Well, this scripture tells us otherwise. I talked a while back about the idea that we are becoming stronger, in which I told the story of the king who ordered a man to push a 10,000 lb rock, and although he couldnÂºt move it, the king told the man that he was becoming stronger by pushing it.

Well, one day the king is going to come back to find that the rock is gone.

-Elder Carson Marsh

A Greater Love for Christ 05-29-08

2008-05-29T18:34:00.000-04:00

So, our great plans to work really hard in the week flopped, due to our refrigerator breaking and the annoying tendancy to rain. Not that we havenÂºt worked hard, but we havenÂºt really been "pounding the streets", as ArmeniaÂºs Elder White is so fond of saying. WeÂºve been doing other projects and clearing the time to really work hard. I just hope that I have the energy for it. But thatÂºs what grace is for, isnÂºt it?

So, IÂºve been struggling lately with a question. How can I develop a greater love for Jesus Christ? How can I love someone that I canÂºt see?

So then I got to thinking... why do I love anyone in the first place? IÂºm sure that I love my family. WhatÂºs so great about them? Well, theyÂºve always been there for me, they always give me advice when I need it, they always comfort me, and they will always be on my side if I need a safe place to go. They do things with me, they teach me things, and I like being with them. I can rely on their strengths to get me through things when I need their help.

Okay, so if any of yÂºall have seen Jesus Christ, you can give me a bit of a better idea about this, but as far as I can tell, Christ fits all of those attributes. And more so, with that last one. I can make His strengths mine when I need them. I can take a moment in which IÂºm weak and cannot continue, and I can make His strengths mine, and I can actually feel myself a little stronger. When I cannot concentrate, cannot be virtuous, He not only tells me what I need to do, but He gives me that virtue. Applies to obedience, love, faith, humility. We can do them all. When Christ says, be ye perfect, even as I am perfect, and when Moroni says that we will be even as He is, it is because He will make us who He is. Not completely, for we still keep our own personalities; otherwise, Heaven would get pretty boring. But the important things, weÂºll have.

Think about your heroes. Why are they your heroes? I bet that you havenÂºt even had a full conversation with some of them. I know that one of RileyÂºs personal heroes was President Hinckley, sorry, is President Hinckley, and as far as I know, theyÂºve never conversed, or played catch together, or anything. Same with some of all of our heroes. So why are they our heroes? Cannot the same idea be applied to Christ? To God?

Well, IÂºll let yÂºall figure that one out. Have a great week!

-Elder Carson Marsh.

P.S. Yeah, about the people. TheyÂºre all still great. CÃ¡tiaÂºs boyfriend out in PÃ³voa (not our area) just got marked for baptism. And, umm.. weÂºll be working extra hard this next week! I hope.

Six more weeks! 05-23-08

2008-05-23T15:09:00.001-04:00

Whew... transfer number six is GONE! That leaves ten. IÂºm sure my dad could have told any of you that quicker than I could have.

And, Elder Yetter and I are staying put for six more weeks. IÂºm happy, because this is probably the most successful area in the mission. Sad news is, our district leader Elder Shaeffer is gone. CÃ¡tia cried when she found out, and I think she is just starting the recovery process. FÃ¡tima said that when I leave she wonÂºt want any more elders in the house, and although she is kidding, it is a bit alarming because it just goes to show how much people can love the missionaries. FÃ¡tima has called us her angels (Book of Mormon scripture chase! Who can find it? Elder Marsh guess: Alma 25) Anyways, so one good thing DID come of it. FÃ¡tima said, talking on the phone to Elder Shaeffer, "But now that youÂºre gone, how are you going to come to my baptism!?" First time IÂºD heard of any baptism, and same went for Elder Shaeffer. Hahaha, FÃ¡tima is a funny lady, I thought. Way to joke around with us again. 30 minutes later, I was wrong again and FÃ¡tima has a baptismal date of June 28th. Huzzah!

If I remember correctly, my emailing was rudely interrupted by CÃ¡tia getting ready to move out of her house. I hope that wasnÂºt last week... But anyways, so I had a 2 hour talk with her and a 1 hour talk with FÃ¡tima, and long story short, they ended up talking and sorting out the problem. Thanks be to God, cuz I sure wasnÂºt the cause. She is not moving out, and thanks to Elder Shaeffer, she is much calmer.

Other things...

We hosted a ward activity the other day, which went really well, but there were no investigators there. Sigh... But since everyone loved it, hopefully they will love the next one too! We just have to be more organized about it.

The other big thing of the week is DÃ©bora. She is so cool, really. She and CÃ¡tia, despite having no money, insist on buying things for us with the little that they have. People really love the missionaries here, and it is such a good feeling. DÃ©bora says that IÂºm her favorite missionary of all the missionaries who have come so far, which I didnÂºt see coming, and the only thing stopping her from baptism is her father. I really hope that his heart softens soon, because IÂºd love to be around when she gets baptized. We talk to her every week and sheÂºs always way excited to see us. IÂºll be honest, I donÂºt know what I did to make me so cool in her eyes, but I think thatÂºs often how it works. Most of the time, when we are trying to impress people, they choose another, but if we simply care for them and donÂºt worry about the result, then we really have the potential to mean something to them. I need to learn this lesson well.

IÂºve gotta go, but my lesson of the day is this: Care about people, and be humble in relationships. If the people who "didnÂºt do anything wrong!" in a relationship would just humble themselves and apologize, so many people would be happier. I personally apologize to anyone whom I may have wronged, and I hope that they will forgive me. ItÂºs hard to let go of pride, it is! I havenÂºt come close to mastering it. But it is possible, and with that, I hope you all have an amazing week!

-Elder Carson Marsh

New Pictures from Portugal 05-17-08

2008-05-17T09:45:00.002-04:00

Wiped Out 05-15-08

2008-05-15T22:07:00.001-04:00

Because of email responses this week, I wonºt be able to give a full report of this weekºs events. I have to go help Fátima with her stop smoking thing soon, but I will give a fuller account soon. Iºm sorry!

Basically, this week was awesome. Cátia had her baptism, Fátima quit smoking, and I went up to Spain. Pictures later. But now there are still problems with Cátiaºs wanting to get married, and theyºre having a big argument at home. So now I get to apply all of those things that President taught us for dealing with relationships with our companions to them, and I the intermediary. Apparently both Fátima and Cátia look to me as a counselor, which is kind of cool but kind of a big responsibility. Iºve been completely whiped out this week and all kinds of stressed, but the Lord will take care of me, so donºt worry about me, but if you do have time, pray that I have sufficient capacity to deal with the problems that will come my way this week, including my own weaknesses.

My pitiful spiritual thought will be this: Be patient! There are so many problems that could be solved with patience. We need to be okay with a bit of delay sometimes in working out our problems, which is a terrible weakness of mine. We need to be willing to be told that weºre wrong. We need to be willing to put ourselves out on the table sometimes and trust that God can take care of the rest. After all we can do, Christºs grace is, has been, and will ALWAYS be sufficient. Trust him. Trust each other. In just about every argument (especially this one with Cátia and Fátima) youºll almost NEVER find an instance in which one person is one hundred per cent correct. Unless youºre talking to God, in which case youºre only correct inasmuch as you are in harmony with Him. But we have to be willing to admit that we donºt know everything (yes, yes, I know, Iºm trying to take the beam out of my eye, thank you very much) and just listen. And talk. And UNDERSTAND.

Iºm sorry that this is a pathetic waste of space email, but Iºll do better next week, I will! Pray for me, pray for each other, and especially pray for Godºs plan.

-Carson

Racing to the Finish 05-09-08

2008-05-15T22:06:00.002-04:00

Well, Iºm sitting here in a room with three other missionaries doing email, so Iºll just keep going until theyºre done and then get off. So I donºt know how much Iºll be able to tell you.

But as promised, Iºll start with Eduarda.

Eduarda is an 18 year old girl with a lot of problems. Her father was a druggie and her mother died, so she and her four younger siblings went to an adoptive couple, luckily all together. But then the husband of that couple left, leaving the wife alone to raise five kids, which she simply couldnºt do on the money that she had. So, Eduarda started working. She worked hard and got a lot of money because of it. People would often ask her to lend them money becuase they were in a fix, which she did often. However, due to an illness, she was unable to work for a month, and now there isnºt enough money to feed the family. The people who owed her money arenºt doing anything about the situation, and so things were not going well for her. But she remembered talking with her grandmother about God and Jesus Christ, and always loved hearing about it, but never really understood the message. The grandmother would always talk to two young boys and learn more which she would share with Eduarda. Enter myself and Elder Yetter. When we were out knocking doors one day she spotted us on her bike and came up to us. She contacted us, asking us who we were and such, and then she invited us to her home, only that didnºt work so we arranged to meet in the praça. Also didnºt work, so we tried again for her house. This time it was a beautiful day and so we were able to go outside her house and talk to her, where I learned her life story. We talked to her a lot about opposition in all things, and how it will help us to appreciate more the good things in life. She seemed to like that message, but she said that she was losing the will to continue on, and that if life after this one was so great, and since she wasnºt even able to take care of her own brothers and sisters, maybe she could at least not be a nuisance and stop living. Well, that called for a topic switch. Then we started talking about Jesus and the Atonement and our purpose here on the earth, why we have to keep on living and learning and growing so that we can be prepared for the happiness that awaits us.
So, two hours later, we ended up giving her a Book of Mormon and inviting her to read it, and if and when she felt something, to accept the invitation to be baptized. She said yes. I told her that she would know if she felt anything that it was true. I told her as well that she would know that it wasnºt true if she felt nothing as she sincerely prayed about it. She said something along the lines of "I donºt think that not feeling anything is going to be an issue" and accepted the challenge. She had to go to France for a week (donºt ask me why...) so weºll be returning next week. Huzzah!

Okay, so Cátia. Well of course things werenºt quite as easy as we figured, but honestly, if they had been, I would have questioned if we werenºt just pulling along someone who wasnºt thinking about it. She talked with Elder Shaeffer and said that she was feeling bad and that the warnings that we gave her about that were happening. But Elder Shaefferºs a stud and that got cleared up. Then, Aline told us that no one was going to be able to go to the baptism, but then I called them and apparently that wasnºt true. Oh the funness (word existence?) of preparing someone for baptism. I feel like a chicken with no head, but since thatºs probably a pretty close resemblance anyways... yeah.

I have learned a lot this week. We had the greenieºs three week feel-good meeting and all of us had interviews and a trainersº meeting with the President. I learned a lot about relationships with other people and how I need to be calm in all situations, and even though those are things that I already knew in my head, I guess that Iºd forgotten them somewhere along the line in my heart. Even though Iºd like to be able to say that I have no temper, those who know me probably also know that that isnºt true. I just have to work on being calm through situations, for that is how leaders act, and guess what? Apparently, Iºm a leader! Who would have thought??

Anyways, some things that Iºve learned, or relearned, this transfer:

1. Iºm still too hard on myself and too impatient with my own growth. But thatºs been one of my problems since forever, and it will probably take forever to finally leave that particular vice behind. Not that I wonºt be working on it.
2. A lot of all of this experience is directed at shaping the missionaries, not always the mission. If we donºt convert anyone but become a better person and leader, then we will affect lives for the better in the future. Iºve already felt my usefulness to the world increase, even if ever so slightly.
3. I should be grateful to be in a more difficult mission. Sometimes, itºs those who donºt baptize every other week that grow the most and become the more effective missionaries because they have to work really hard for all of their success. Not that the Spirit doesnºt have most of everything to do with it.
4. Sometimes in a difficult situation, the best thing to do is to wait and give it time. I have a habit of wanting to solve problems immediately, but really, thatºs not always best. A problem doesnºt always snowball effect with time; in fact, most times once the anger simmers down, so does 90% of the problem. Of course, we always have to be ready to act and feel the Lordºs guidance in every situation.

There were a lot more things, but I think that Iºll leave those until a bit later. I need to have some time to reflect and apply what I have learned, and then Iºll certainly share the results. If you didnºt get my email, mum and pops, 011 351 258 829 020, 8:15 PM Portugal time, which should be 3:15 PM EST. If yºall donºt call by 8:25, Iºll assume youºre confused and call you real quick.

Love to all. See you on the other side of what should be a great baptism!

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

There will come a time when we need not learn of God 05-02-08

2008-05-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

I have about four minutes to write this email!

Here goes!

I didnÂºt write on Thursday because it was a national holiday in Portugal. Equivalent of Labor day. So everything was insane and the stores were closed. There you have it, my excuse. Take it or leave it.

Anyways, so stuff.

MotherÂºs day, IÂºll probably be calling at 7 30 my time, 2 30 PM yours, and IÂºll give you the number next week. Are you excited yet? I am!

There are two people of note this week and I shall talk about them for a minute each with a spiritual thought.

CÃ¡tia: Gets baptized a week from tomorrow. So apparently Eduardo, her boyfriend, just proposed to her as well. Funny how that happened a week after she agreed to live the law of chastity. She is so ready for baptism, though. She struggled with it a lot, but she is decided on this course of action and
will follow through with it. I am practicing my piano a lot, but I still feel that it will be inadequate. WeÂºll see. We just have to get through the rest of the commandments with her in the next week, which is going to be THE most hectic week ever. WeÂºre going to be in PÃ³voa on Sunday and Monday, New missionariesÂº meeting on Tuesday, work our tails off on Wednesday, pday thursday, planning friday, baptism saturday, mothers day and teaching fatima how to stop smoking sunday. AHH!

Okay, so Eduarda will have to wait until next week because I want to share my spiritual thought and IÂºm out of time.

I had been recently worried about my own progression, feeling that I was regressing rather than progressing. IÂºve had like 2 arguments with Elder Yetter in the past week, but we have gotten through them and now we get along really really well. I hope I stay with him this next transfer. I think that some kind of disagreement is necessary in a relationship or it means that thereÂºs no communication between people, but there are always better ways to handle it. Anyways...

So I was reading in Joseph Smith Teachings about learning and knowledge, and I found some interesting ideas.
1. Having already existing words MEAN something to you is inspiration. New words or ideas donÂºt have to come to you to be receiving revelation, for a testimony of GodÂºs words to yourself or others is the highest form of revelation I know.
2. Without the Atonement of Christ, we would not be clean, we would not be able to near ourselves to God, we would not receive inspiration, and we would cease to learn. Thus learning comes from Christ. One more thing to add to the list, right?
3. Hebrews 8 and Jeremiah 21(?) talk about an important concept. There will come a time when we donÂºt have to ask people to do things to know about or to know God, because everyone, from the least to the most of us, will know Him. That means that there wonÂºt be any least or most of us, but all equal in knowledge and learning and spirituality. It will be a great day.

So basically what I learned is that I have to concentrate on the small things, repenting every day and trying to do better. WeÂºll all get there eventually if we stay on the right path. ThatÂºs whatÂºs so great about this gospel is that it does not limit us at all, but grants us our already existing infinite potential. We are not finite.

Well, IÂºm already out of time, but the Eduarda story is all sorts of cool.
Remind me about it and look forward to it for next time!

-Elder Carson Marsh

Come on, just do it 04-24-08

2008-04-24T08:45:00.001-04:00

So, I was really sick this week. Again, I know. Just about every thing that could possibly have been wrong with me was. But such it goes. Iºm almost recovered except that I canºt really eat (my throat is killing me), which generally means that I canºt receieve the nutrients to make me better. Vicious cycle of death! Yay!

Okay, so the week. Being sick was good because it taught me to work under less than 100%. Always need to do better at that so I can really do well at 100%. Nevertheless, Iºm ready to be completely better ;)

Iºm still teaching Portuguese the best I can to Elder Yetter, but it is going slowly. Seriously though, this man is the most motivated kid at contacts Iºve ever seen. I have always, always been the one to drag others into doing contacts with me. For this kid, if weºre not doing contacts in a day, we wasted it. Not a bad thing, but it pushes me, which is good.

Yesterday was a particularly difficult day for me. I was really hit hard with fatigue, and I just wanted it to be P-Day so that I could rest, but I couldnºt, and I didnºt want to go out there to do contacts, and I missed home, and I was really trunky (Trunky means to be homesick or to think/talk about home in missionary terms, for those of you who didnºt know) and overall, I just didnºt want to go out there, and I didnºt want to work anymore.

So, I was like that for a while trying to practice the piano when I remembered a quote from President Benson that said that the greatest part of missionary work is work! When we work we have the spirit, and when we have the spirit we teach the spirit and everyone is happy. There is no thinking about home, no missing of friends, because all of our time and effort is concentrated on the work. Or something like that.

So I decided that I was just going to go out there and do it, and that I was going to enjoy it. Well, that just made my companionºs day. We went out and had four great lessons, and it was actually quite fun. Elder Yetter taught half of a lesson! I was proud of him.

So, now, what comes next?

Well, I have to keep going. I have to realize that Iºm not anywhere close to finished, and that I canºt just "wait it out" until the end. I suppose Iºll illustrate it like this.

Sometimes, we feel as if the hard things that we have to do are just like taking your medicine. You hold your nose and brace for impact and then thereºs a bit of discomfort but then itºs all done. Well, a lot of things in this world are not like that. Right now, for me, the mission is life. I cannot brace for impact and just take it until itºs over because I wonºt make it. Same thing with everything thatºs hard that we have to do.

Another illustration: Sometimes we think that if we stand up high enough with a paper airplane and throw it that it will fly on forever. But it wonºt. Without a system to propel it up, it will eventually fall to the ground, no matter how much energy we put into it at the beginning.

So what do we do?

We make it a self perpetuating system. We tie a balloon to the airplane that allows it to buoy itself without any other effort on our part, and it will go on forever.

Okay, this is probably a stupid analogy so Iºll get to the point. We all have our challenges, some medicine, others paper airplanes. Build up your energy and brace for the medicines of the world. But for the others, we have to find a way to make it enjoyable. To make it livable. In my case, in the mission, I had to find a way to enjoy what I was doing. Which I do. I love talking to people about the restored gospel. I love helping other people. I love reading the scriptures. I could help a thousand people see the importance of the gospel and it would never get old. So thatºs my helium. That way no one has to pick me up and run up the cliff again and throw me. I have my own energy to continue on.

This analogy probably made no sense, so I think Iºll just cut my losses here and quit out. But my point is, find things in life that are enjoyable. For the things that arenºt, find a way to make them such. Youºll never make it if you hate every part of your day, even with the promise of eternal life at the end of it all. Trust me, Iºve tried. God does not just promise us eternal life in the future, but hapiness in the HERE and NOW. But we have to help make it happen. Find a way.

Well, thatºs it for now. Enjoy your week!

-Elder Carson Marsh

Don't You Hate Learning Humility?? 04-17-08

2008-04-17T21:12:00.003-04:00

Hello!

It has been an interesting week. I donºt know how many of the details Iºll be able to fill in this time around, but Iºm sure that some way or another youºll get all of the information.

So, we have spent a lot more time this week trying to actively find people to teach. We had one big street meeting here in Viana in which we got like 6-8 peopleºs contact information. Iºll be calling them all sometime today when Iºm not asleep to see which ones are interested and which ones were just being polite. It was especially hard for me to get started as I tried to talk to people, since it had been so long since I had done it in the past. Itºs one of those using your talents type things, I think. I sometimes figure that if I just learn enough that I wonºt have any problems doing the things that I have learned again and again. But we just have to remember that without Godºs blessings we canºt even get started.

We also knocked doors in the rain yesterday. Fun times. I figure that if I can show Elder Yetter the hard parts of the work first, he will not feel as I did when I started that my trainer was slacking off, but rather recognize that there are a lot of hard things to be done about the work and that we have to take things in stride. So far so good, I think. Heºs doing a lot better about talking to people than I was. I think that part of this has to do with the examples that Elder Yetter has had that I did not-- not talking about myself, but about Aline and the other Elders in my district. We are a lot more tight-knit here, so he gets the collective experience of three missionaries and a native Portuguese who loves missionary work to help him out. I think that he is going to be a really good missionary as soon as he learns to communicate.

Speaking of which, thatºs going to start in full stride this upcoming week. Obviously we have to allow our new missionaries to settle in and feel comfortable. Every time I see him having difficulties, I look back at the challenges that I faced not being able to communicate with ANYONE, and I feel how important it is to be your companionºs friend, especially at the beginning of his mission. Youºre all that heºs got.

That being said, he is going pretty well with the language. Obviously heºs got work to do, but Iºm not done learning about the language myself, so I certainly can understand a few bumps in the road here and there. I think that itºs a good thing that I trained so young so that I could still remember my first challenges in learning the language and communicating with even my companion.

Although that doesnºt mean that we canºt have a little fun now and then. I donºt know if Iºve ever mentioned Karin before... sheºs our only less-active member who has a lot of health problems that impede her from going to church on sundays. She also speaks like, no Portuguese, but weºre working with her on that. Sheºs from Norway, though, so she speaks Norweigan fluently (by the way, mom, I gave her that sissel CD you gave me... do you think you could get me another one? No rush, by this Christmas if possible) So I sent her a text message telling her to respond in Norweigan to anything that I said in Portuguese. Fun times. Elder Yetter was So confused, but he has a good sense of humor, so it worked out just fine.

So, onto the people. Debora got really upset this Sunday during fast and testimony meeting. I never figured out why, but I have a pretty good educated guess. She cannot get baptized because of her fatherºs lack of cooperation. The Branch Presidentºs daughter-8 years old- was baptized this week, and almost everyone- including myself- talked about it in Fast and Testimony meeting. I guess I was a little insensitive. We have to be very careful about what we say to her. We want to talk to her about families, because thatºs what she needs to hear, we think, but we canºt go too far into the fact that she canºt enter the gates of baptism nor be sealed to her family just yet. Life is hard for some kids... Iºm ever more greatful for my parentsº acceptance of my choices, wherever I so chose to go or do with my life.

The big humbling experience for me this week has to do with Cátia and Fátima, or rather, mostly Cátia. After Elder Tidwell left, I assumed that I would be the logical choice to perform her baptism, since my companion had been there only a few days and Elder Tidwell was all the way down south. But this week Cátia seemed very strange, and I could tell that she was reconsidering her decision to be baptized. I donºt know what told it to me- I just sort of knew. But as we went in to talk to them this time- the four of us: Elder Yetter, myself, Elder Jacobe and Elder Schaeffer, there was all kinds of noise going on because some relatives were over. Our attempts to teach a concrete lesson were less than successful. So I tried to teach Fátima while Elder Schaffer tried to talk to Cátia, and Elder Yetter was just trying to be understood. Well, the lesson with Fátima went pretty well, or as well as could be expected, but I didnºt really know what had happened with Cátia. Later that night as I was on division with Elder Schaffer, Aline called us and that Cátia wanted Elder Schaffer to perform the baptism. I was really happy that Cátia still wanted to go through with it, but a little bit hurt that I was not chosen to do this for her.
Later that night I found out exactly what had happened. Cátia and Aline were together discussing it and Cátia said that she wasnºt sure that she wanted to be baptized anymore-- that she hadnºt been receiving an answer to her prayers. She and Aline prayed together, and Cátia declared, "Now I have no more doubts!" "I want this to be a very special day, and I want Tiago (Elder Schaffer) to do the baptism!" She had received personal revelation about how it should be. It showed me, very powerfully, that God can find people to do the work when we are not prepared, and that one of the necessary preparations is being humble and not seeking after callings. Iºve always been kind of a competitive person, wanting to be the best at the language, the best at whatever, and not remembering to look to the good qualities of everyone else. This wasnºt helped by the fact that I was called to be a trainer, making me think that I was doing Something right. That night, Elder Schaffer had a feeling that he should go to someoneºs house in his area with me that he had not planned on before. She wasnºt home, but as a result, we found some guys struggling to start their car that needed our help and some investigators that had moved that lost contact with us but that passed us on the way and gave us their information. I gained a testimony from this that each one of us as missionaries is qualified to receive revelation for that work. I have a lot to learn from Elder Schaffer as well-- heºs always so happy, and though at times he seems a bit immature, he loves all the people with whom he serves, and I need to learn to take the best from everyone who dedicates this time to serving the Lord. When I applied that idea to contacting, I had more success, for the people could see my cheerfulness. Anyways, this is already way long, so Iºll close here. I hope you all have a great week, and that you remember to be humble before the Lord. Learn to learn from everyone, for as sons and daughters of God they all have the very same potential that we do.

On a side note, Cátia then asked me to be the pianist for the baptism. As soon as I did show my humility before the Lord, I was called to serve after all, and now Iºm all kinds of nervous because Iºm still not that great at the piano. Wish me luck!

-Elder Carson Marsh

The End of the Beginning 04-11-08

2008-04-11T16:28:00.002-04:00

Conference commentary will come next week, when I see the rest of it. And I may have to re-watch a bit that I didnÂºt understand from the Portuguese session.

So I have realized today something quite important, that will probably impact the rest of my mission.

...

IÂºm old.

I say that IÂºm old because sitting next to me right now is a kid who has been in the country for two days, and I get to train him.

Huzzah.

His name is Elder Yetter. He is a really cool kid with GreenieÂºs fire, as I call it, which is unfortunate this week because weÂºre going to a lot of things and wonÂºt be able to actually do too much proselyting. However, IÂºm optimistic that things will work well with him. He has a lot to learn. Almost as much as I do. I imagine that this marks the end of any time I will have a senior companion, and IÂºll probably be responsible for teaching missionaries as often as I am other people. Which I actually enjoy. I do so love teaching (read: corrupting) people, and I hope that they love learning of me. I usually learn my most when IÂºm trying to teach others, so IÂºm excited and I think that it will work well. This is my first actual calling as a missionary (unless you count senior companion last transfer) so IÂºm kind of excited for it.

That being said, I have not much to report. WeÂºve been travelling like crazy this week, so not much work has actually been done. And weÂºll be in Porto again on Saturday and Tuesday, so my greenie is going to have to wait a little longer to really get started. Oops. I figured when we started that he would just be a little bit less knowledgable than Elder Tidwell. I think that I underestimated how much Elder Tidwell knew. However, Elder Yetter really wants to learn, and as soon as we know each other a bit, heÂºs going to want to get started with the Portuguese. I think that now that I have been blessed with so much knowledge in the language, it will be my responsibility henceforth to share it with others. Only fair. IsnÂºt that how the gospel works, too?

IÂºm going to go read my first journal entries that I wrote here on the mission. I know that not all of them were happy days, and I imagine that the new Elder will feel the same way much of the time. Viana do Castelo is used to having newbies, so although they wonÂºt like it, theyÂºll know how to deal with it.

IÂºm sure that FÃ¡tima and CÃ¡tia will have fun with all of this. TheyÂºll be giving him his "name" as soon as we get to their house this afternoon. Huzzah.

We plan to really start going as soon as possible. Although with the Branch PresidentÂºs daughterÂºs baptism tomorrow, weÂºll be travelling all day. We donÂºt technically have anything to do with it, but we should be there for support and to invite everyone to come with us.

IÂºve been reading up on leadership ever since I received the call, and I think that the best advice I have received is just to show love for the kid. Learning will come with time, but only if the teachee respects the teacher. I donÂºt want him to feel as I did when I arrived, isolated by a large language barrier in my way. IÂºm going to have to do my best to make the transition smooth, which is really how IÂºll be doing things for the rest of my life, with kids into the world, in Church, in my job, etc. But the only way to learn is experience.

Thus, IÂºm off!

-Elder Carson Marsh

Pictures from Portugal March 2008

2008-04-04T22:55:00.014-04:00

My district, plus Aline. I got cut out by the picture printer :( Oh well.

Elder Tidwell, Elder Schaeffer, Aline, Elder Jacobe (of Filipino decent, born in Frankfurt & raised in England. And now he's here in Portugal.

1/2 of Elder Marsh

The Spiral Staircase leading up to the top. It can be pretty clausterphobicizing up there, but the view is way worth it.

The up-close of the outside of Sonta Luzia (Sohn-ta Loo-zee-uh). Beautiful, isn't it? It's huge. Just goes to show that all churches can have beauty and we should appreciate what they have to offer. But it's what we've got inside that counts. ;)

Elder Tidwell and my "other companion" Aline. She does a lot of work with us. Sometimes it's hard to remember she's still just a 16 year old girl. She gets mad at us a lot for little stuff and has little patients. But she loves the gospel and is willing to devote much of herself to it at a young age, and I respect her for it. Elder Tidwell is a good guy. We get along really well, and his Portuguese is good. We're a little too lazy, but we're working on it.

On the Thursday before Easter, all the churches in Viana de Costelo get all fancied up so that people can go around and see. Whether picture taking was allowed or not, I'm not sure. But I did what I did, and y'all can enjoy the result.

The Enemy to Diligence 04-03-08

2008-04-03T08:18:00.001-04:00

Hey guys.

There really arenºt too many updates this week. Iºll get them out of the way quickly and then give yºall the thought for the week.

The first is Artur. Artur is a referral from a member in Spain, and we had been trying to get him to meet with us since the beginning of the transfer (and apparently the beginning of the last as well) and we finally set up an appointment with him. Well, we figured that he wasnºt going to show up after waiting at the praça (a praça is like one o dem openings that they have in Europe with all the chairs and outside restaurants and such. They actually chain up all the chairs at night so no one steals them) for like 15 minutes. However, after asking just about every random guy there if his name was Artur, a man and his wife and kid showed up and the man introduced himself as Artur. Then the lady (Janet) started speaking to us in English! Apparently her parents are from Moçambique but she was born in South Africa, so there you go. Well, the lesson could have been better. They spent most of the time asking us questions about various things, like how Nephi could have sailed across the sea (they have been reading a bit in the Book of Mormon) and what the Priesthood was, but we finally organized it into a decent first lesson. I donºt know if we impressed Artur, but Janet seemed to like us a lot. Gabriel, the 11 year old, was just plain bored. We just plain werenºt prepared for him, but now that we know the situation, weºll be able to plan for him for the next time.

We have also expanded our teaching of Fátimaºs family. One day this week when we came in to teach Fátima, her sister was randomly there. So we taught her the first lesson, and the Spirit was strong in the meeting. I think that Elsa (the sister) could feel that at least Something was there. So we asked her to read 3 Nephi 11 and sent her along her way. Then she came back two days later and didnºt understand like anything about the chapter, so we tried to explain it. Well Fátima wouldnºt stand for that. She was excited about our teaching of the plan of salvation to her sister (for that is what Fátima loves about our message, having lost her husband and father recently) and so she demanded that we teach the plan of salvation. Then, when we started at the beginning, she said, "No, no, tell her what happens AFTER we die. Tell her where our father is now!" So that was pretty funny. But Elsa seemed to like it, and it shows us that Fátima was listening to our message and believes in it. Actually, we saw Fátima wearing colors the other day, which I believe makes it the first time since her husband died. Huzzah for the messages of God!

Oh yeah, AND Fátima came to church on Sunday. That was cool. The sisters of the ward swarmed her and I couldnºt even really talk to her. It was really good for her and she said that she liked it a lot, although she was only able to stay for the first hour. We are trying to arrange for Cátia and Fátima to come with us to see Conference, but weºre not sure how it will work out. Weºre hoping, though.

Okay, so that was pretty long but now I want to talk about something really fast before I go. So turns out Iºm getting pretty old in the mission. Next week will be my 9 month mark and the end of my 5th transfer out of 15. Insane. As a result, I have hit a bit of a slump in my diligence as a missionary. I get tired sometimes of doing the same old thing every day, and so sometimes I just donºt do it. Iºve noticed it for a while, and so Iºve been trying desperately to fight it, but itºs a long and annoying battle. However, I do believe that I have found a solution. It stems from the knowledge that Rome was not built overnight and that God doesnºt expect us to be either. Despite the fact that I or any of you may have been at some state in the past that weºd like to reachieve or surpass, or even if we havenºt been there before and just want to get there, we cannot expect to do it all at once, and we cannot expect to do it alone. The first battle to win is remembering that God loves us and will help us. The second is to recognize how nothing we are without God. God allows us to be weak in some things so that we will recognize this fact (see Ether 12:27) and seek his help. Second. Baby steps. So you want to talk to 10 people a day. Well you arenºt going to get there if you try to just start. You do 2 a day, or 3. Then 5. Then 6. Say you want to read out of the Book of Mormon every day, but youºve never done it before. You arenºt going to read the whole book of 1 Nephi in a day. You start with a few verses until it becomes habit, and then you grow slowly. So, I personally, came up with 11 small goals to help me to grow in all areas necessary. And it works for everyone. Many people are learning new languages as missionaries. Okay, so learn 1 new word a day, or two. Better than trying to do 15 a day and then forgetting them all and giving up.

Remember:
1. The enemy of Better is Good
2. Stretch too hard and youºll break something. Hard to stretch a leg muscle when the bone is broken.

Okay, thatºs it. Have a great week and donºt forget to keep stretching. If you have trouble of thinking how, watch General Conference this upcoming week and I bet youºll get some ideas.

Until next time!

-The Best and Least Prideful Elder of all Portugal. I mean, the World.

The Cost of Appreciation 03-27-08

2008-03-27T13:20:00.001-04:00

Hey team. Howºs it going? I wonºt make this very long as Iºve said almost everything new that I had to report already. However, we have asked Cátia and Fátima to be baptized. Now they just have to think it over and pray about it. I think that Cátia, at the very least, will decide to be baptized, and Iºm excited about it.

Weºve been trying to find new people to teach, but it has not been going too successfully, especially with the change in weather. No one wants to talk to us when itºs raining all the time. However, we do have plans to get people to at least talk to us. At the end of this transfer (in two weeks) we plan to have the beginning to our English Classes, which should be interesting, especially if as I fear Elder Tidwell will get transferred for one of the 12 greenies coming in. But, cºest la vie. It will all work out.

Dad asked about my piano playing. Itºs going, little by little. We have a sound system in the church so any hymn I canºt play just gets played by the system, but having an actual pianist is better. Iºm focusing on playing a few songs well rather than all mediocre. My goal is to be able to play 50 hymns by the end of my mission. I think Iºm at 3.

With the change in weather comes a new challenge for me as well. Iºm sick. I had a fever last night, but itºs broken now and Iºm ready to get back to work tomorrow. Opposition in all things, right? How could I ever appreciate being healthy all the time if I was never sick? Alma 7:12 (or maybe 13 but I think 12) tells us that Christ suffered from all kinds of infirmities to be able to know how it is that we feel with all of ours. Now I can better relate to those who are always sick. Every time that we have a new challenge in our lives, we need to think of how it can be used to our personal benefit, and also how to let it strengthen us so that we will be able to help others in the way that God wants us to. Always look outwards. My dad once told me that personal growth is a natural consequence of devoting your life to serving others, and itºs definitely true. So appreciate the good things you have and reflect on the possible reasons that maybe some of these challenges are in all of our lives. We all grow, one step at a time, and all of this so that we may be able to lift others as well, with words, with actions, and with love. Mosiah 7:48. Pray unto God with all the energy of your hearts that you may be filled with love one to another. Itºs not easy. But itºs definitely worth it.

Allright, well I think Iºm done digressing. Pictures should come today.

Keep helping your testimonies to grow, and search out the Spirit of God.

-Carson

selfpoint + finger wag + chin touch 03-20-08

2008-03-20T10:51:00.000-04:00

Explanations for the subject later.

I still really do love this area. Working with Elder Tidwell is also a lot of fun. The work is really going forward. FÃ¡tima and CÃ¡tia are progressing, even if it is incredibly slowly. They are incredibly rooted in tradition, as are most of the people in this little town, but weÂºre not here to move the mountain in a day. Even at a boulder at a time, you really donÂºt even notice it moving until youÂºre about halfway there.

On an interesting note, we attended a Catholic mass the other day. FÃ¡tima hit us with a "you go to mine IÂºll go to yours deal" and I think we surprised her by saying yes. President Henry had just told us the other day that it would be a great shame to spend two whole years in Portugal without going to a Catholic mass, so, it works out. It was very interesting, but it also showed me how great it was to be in this Church. The cathedral was beautiful, but the mass was so very uptight. Everyone there was about 70 plus, except for us and FÃ¡timaÂºs family. Lara, FÃ¡timaÂºs four year old, was trying her best to keep still, but when you have that much life packed inside you it just doesnÂºt work. CÃ¡tia tried desperately to calm her, but it didnÂºt work. You just canÂºt quench a spirit like that. In our meetings, itÂºs not like you should always be running around, but itÂºs not the end of the world. I donÂºt know... it was just a lot different. Hard to explain.

However, the next day we got to go to a choir thing with CÃ¡tia as well. It was so cool! It was in a cathedral type thing again, and that girl Aline was in it, but her part was too late at night for us to see. They sounded like they should have been from the middle ages. I kind of want some music like that, if Sarah feels like sending any. Afterwards, I listened to some mormon tabernacle choir and actually enjoyed it again! (After the MTC where all you can do is listen to the motab, it got wayy old) I wouldnÂºt mind some of that either, if you can get the best stuff compiled or something. Sarah and Mom should know what IÂºd want.On a side note, that Debra girlÂºs parents just finalized their divorce. Sad. But the upside is that there shouldnÂºt be anything stopping Debra from being baptized now. She just has to say yes. She already knows more about the gospel than I did when I was thirteen (okay, exaggeration, but close) and she comes every week with her mother. WeÂºll see how it goes.

Okay, so now an explanation. For the subject line, I mean.
Ready?

So IÂºm learning a new language now. Apparently Portuguese wasnÂºt enough. But itÂºs going very slowly. I call it PSL, because I donÂºt know if thereÂºs a real abbreviation for Portuguese Sign Language. ItÂºs apparently fairly dissimilar to American Sign Language, but itÂºs still a lot of fun to learn. The reason is that a recent convert of ours is deaf, and so in order to communicate, our options are learn sign language or have a piece of paper with us. I usually have to pick the latter, but I am picking it up, faster than youÂºd think... at least IÂºm told it will happen faster than IÂºd think.
WeÂºll see.

So I want to share a thought about you all about testimonies. I remember that once I shared my testimony with you all at the MTC at which I told you all that I knew that this was GodÂºs true Church here on the Earth. I told you all that I knew that I knew it, and despite the fact that I knew it right then, I told you all that I would doubt again. This has happened several times despite the fact that IÂºm on a mission. But I continue. And every time, just when it feels like God has forgotten about me, I feel His love for me again. Because I continue to have faith in what I have learned. I think that sometimes it is hard for us to recognize that just because someone is having troubles does not necessarily mean that theyÂºve discarded their faith, just that they may have lost it for a while. This happens with a great deal of the less active members that they have. FÃ¡tima has told us on a number of occasions that she feels a warmth inside her when she reads some things in the book of Mormon. Guess what. THATÂºs a response. When we really sit down and think about it, thatÂºs just about the only way that God could tell us anyway. If an angel came down here in front of us all to tell us something, half of us would probably be looking for strings. If God showed us His ultimate and amazing power, weÂºd probably laugh it off and ask where the special effects technician was. But an answer inside of us... a feeling! ThatÂºs something thatÂºs harder to explain away. Remember them. Just like you remember that gravity is what pulls us down. No one questions that! But just in case, I declare to anyone thatÂºs listening (because as IÂºm typing this IÂºm getting such a feeling. How cool is that?) that I know that what IÂºm saying is true. I declare it to the world! I challenge anyone who reads this to try to convince me that this is not the Church of God. It is. Those of us who have tried it know it. For FÃ¡tima, I just have to teach her what she already knows. When we are doubting, itÂºs usually because life is too hectic to sit down and talk to God about it. That even happens as a missionary! We get so caught up in the every day, in what happens next, in trying to avoid the hardest parts of the work, that we forget what a marvelous thing talking to God is! And yes, we donÂºt get a warm feeling every time we get down on our knees, or at least I donÂºt. Sometimes we have to rely on the tests that we have already done. I know that not everyone who reads these emails believes in this church, in God, or in what IÂºm saying. Perhaps I should illustrate with a point.

When I was little, I used to think that I was the only real living thing on the Earth. I couldnÂºt feel the consciousness of anyone else, so I had no way of knowing if any one of them was real. I thought that whenever IÂºd leave a classroom at school, everyone would just freeze until I got back, at which point theyÂºd all start moving again. This may sound ridiculous to most of you, but to the seven year old mind this was a perfectly reasonable conclusion. But when I started talking to people, really getting to know them, it was almost as if I could FEEL them. As if I knew exactly how they felt, even though no nerve was touched, and nothing went to my brain telling me that they felt pain, sorrow, or were even real living beings. But I knew, as far as we can possibly say that knowledge goes, that those people were real. I think it started with my mother, and some of my closest friends. Gradually I became convinced that I was wrong, and that everyone was just as real and feeling as I was. I canÂºt prove it beyond all doubt, because in the end I could be dreaming this all up in an insane asylum somewhere. But, I say that I know it, because as far as knowledge goes, I do.Now, I say this all because I believe it to be the same with God. If we donÂºt try to get to know Him, as I didnÂºt really try to know anyone as a child, we wonÂºt feel His presence. We wonÂºt know that He exists, because there will always be what ifs that tell us that there could be no God just as there could be no real people on the Earth. But as you begin to understand Him, and as you begin to talk to Him, well, I guess youÂºll just have to find out for yourself. As I canÂºt convince you that IÂºm real if you choose not to believe it, I also canÂºt do so with God. IÂºm not going to try. But think about it. And hey, if itÂºs not worth it to you to find out, or to think back and remember if you already know, so be it. I would hope that those of you who know me personally can remember experiences with me and know that this is not a randomly generated message. I am Carson Blake Marsh. IÂºm not a random connection of nerve endings and muscle fibers. God is. We all have a potential much greater than we realize. And I know that IÂºm rambling right now and perhaps just speaking to those who agree with me, but I hope not.

Remember how you felt when you first read the Book of Mormon, the only book I know of that gives us the promise to know that it is true afterwards. And of course, we are still referring to knowledge in the sense that knowledge can be obtained, for you all could be sitting right next to me in that insane asylum. If you havenÂºt read it, I urge you to try. If you donÂºt know what the promise is, IÂºll tell you. Anyone who reads the book with the actual intent to know (just as I had to actually WANT to know someone before I could get to the point where I could say, "Harrison Thurman IS" (sorry buddy just an example)) and who prays about it, having faith that itÂºs POSSIBLE that what it says is true, and that there could actually be One out there who loves us all and who can take our pain away, youÂºll get it. But you have to trust that itÂºs possible. And how? None of you have ever seen Jesus Christ, and never spoken to Him personally. So really, in whom would you be trusting if you decided to try this out?

Me.

So, if you donÂºt trust me, well, then thatÂºs my fault. And if what I say isnÂºt worth your time, then I guess I wasnÂºt a good enough friend to whomever may be reading this email. I canÂºt make God come alive for you. But you can, and He can. Back to my example (for the last time, I promise) Eleisha Goff telling me that Courtney Roberts is a real person canÂºt make me know that. IÂºd have to talk to her and get to know her myself. I canÂºt use fancy wording and get you to believe. Read the book, again if you already have, if you are in that state in which we all unfortuanately so often find ourselves called doubt. It happens to all of us. It will happen to me again, I can almost promise you that. But, I will remember how I feel right now as I speak (...type) to you. And that will be enough to keep me going.

After all the testimonies that have been given, this is the last which I give of Him, that He lives!

-Carson Blake Marsh

Pretending like youÂºre stupid! And not being too far off 03-03-08

2008-03-13T08:52:00.001-04:00

This has been a hectic week. I think I took for granted being so close to the center of things. We are a 1.5 hour bus ride from the rest of our district, and they, in turn, are about 2 hours from Porto. Thus, Zone Conference took like, all day. And Elder Tidwell has to go BACK on Friday to renew his VISA. So pretty much the week is shot. But it gives us a determination to work hard on the next week, which is good. WeÂºve started getting serious about planning things. We plan like every moment of our week from the beginning, or at least weÂºre going to. WeÂºre going to have to carry a pencil with a very big eraser around, methinks. But, such is life.

So I got the opportunity to give away a Book of Mormon yesterday during the long trip in what I thought was a very good lesson. Basically, I acted like the idiot I was and picked a word in the Liahona (Portuguese Ensign) that I didnÂºt know and went up to this lady and said, "Um, excuse me, I have no idea what this means. Can you help me?" And from there I went on to tell her how Portuguese was Hard and and I left a card with our number on it. I figured sheÂºd shoo me away after that, but she started asking me questions such as, "Are you Catholics, then?". "Nope." "So do you believe in the Saints?" "Well, we believe that they existed, yes, and were very good people. But we donÂºt pray to them. We pray to God." And then I started talking to her about prayer and personal answers to prayer, and she asked me if the book on the card answered the three questions on the card (why are we here, where did we come from, where will we go afterwards) because she wanted to know and she said that sheÂºd been doing all the Catholic rituals and everything but that they hadnÂºt given her any such answers. So Elder Tidwell just happened to have been carrying around a big box of Book of Mormon Âºs and so we opened it up and gave her one. IÂºm really hoping she calls back, because thatÂºs the kind of thing that could really turn into something great. IÂºve learned, though, that you cannot force it on people. You have to allow them to make the decision, because as Joseph Smith teaches, "I teach them correct principles. Then they go and govern themselves." WeÂºre not here to force anyone to do what they simply do not want to do. WeÂºre here to teach them why some things are necessary and will bless their lives. The rest is up to them.

The rest of the week has gone slowly, as I said, although CÃ¡tia has now gone to church twice, and FÃ¡tima has promised to come on the condition that we attend a mass service with her once. She said that she felt like if she went to our church without going to hers sheÂºd be betraying her faith. IÂºm kind of excited to go, actually, and President Henry encouraged it, so letÂºs let the good times roll!

ThatÂºs about it for this week, family and friends. IÂºm learning, little by little, and I know that Christ will help us all through our weaknesses and difficulties. So repent, get over it, and move on, always improving.

Venha o que vier,
Ã‰lder Carson Marsh

Just donºt make me sing it again! 03-06-08

2008-03-07T07:10:00.001-05:00

Okay, so sorry I donºt have a spiritual related subject line, but I thought that this described my situation best. I Love this area. Itºs pretty much amazing. That girl Aline I talked about before helps us with just about every appointment we want her for (she actually ditches on school sometimes. Itºs kind of bad. But we never know when she has school because European schedules are Crazy.) But the fact that she is a 16 year old girl runs into a brick wall of Rules that may impede the work. But obedience is necessary. We havenºt heard a final verdict on that yet. But first.
The area is beautiful. Iºll try to get some pictures soon, but probably not this week. I am SO TIRED. Iºm thinking that naps are the way to go this week and maybe a bit of catchup work on my letters. Sorry everyone. I swear Iºll reply to your wonderful letters! Things have been hectic lately.

Viana do Castelo has a great treat called (by me) the Super Bolo de Berlim. Bolos are these pastries (bolo in english is cake) that are really good and come in all types of shapes and sizes and level of amazingness. But bolos de berlim (berlin) were always my favorite. Well thereºs this store that sells like a super version of it, hot and with cinnamony goodness. Yum. I may just get fat after all.

My companion is cool. His Portuguese is probably about where mine was three months ago (heºs been here for three months and I for six, so it makes sense) so heºs an asset to the missionary work. Iºm still terrible with directions but I am slowly improving.

So, the work. The branch is way awesome but really small. 18 people last week, including two investigators. One such investigator was Raimundo, a Brasilian who has been having some tough times finding work. He actually moved to Spain on Monday. But, after the sunday school lesson he asked to be able to speak to everyone before the closing prayer. And basically he blew us all away. He told us that he had been praying for answers that morning to some questions heºd had and that the lesson (2 Nephi 4 is AMAZING, by the way.) had given them to him. And that seeing the family oriented church with the missionary lessons had convinced him that this was the truth and that he would seek the missionaries out in Madrid (we gave him the Madrid Mission office number) Cool, eh?

Limited time, so letºs see. Our most progressing investigators right now are Fátima (42) and Cátia (18, daughter of Fátima). They love the missionaries. When we got there they were listening to a CD that aline had given them and the Prince of Egypt song was on and I knew most of the words so I was singing softly to myself whilst they were talking to Elder Tidwell. And then they made me sing it. I didnºt know all of it, but I sang what I know. And for those of you that know my singing voice, itºs not the best. But Fátima loved it. And now we canºt start a lesson without her hearing me sing it 1-3 times. Itºs insane. But theyºre really doing well. Fátima doesnºt like the fact that we are all Elders (Helder-silent H- is actually a name in Portuguese so itºs confusing sometimes) so sheºs given us new names. Elder Anderson who was before me is Hugo (oo-goo). Elder Tidwell is Pedro (Peter) and Iºm José (Joseph) Cátia is progressing really well and we want to invite her to be baptized soon. Fátima has received an answer to the Book of Mormon and now just has to come to chruch and quit smoking. I believe weºll get there. Oh, but it was funny. They told us that they were moving to France to be Jehovahºs witnessºs missionaries for six months (Fátima had been talking to them for a long time before we found Cátia, but has told us that she doesnºt feel the same way about them that she does about us). So we got way upset and didnºt know what to do, and then we go over there (without Aline) and they admit to us that it was a joke. But made us promise not to tell Aline. Poor Aline! But then after they finally told her, they then said that only Fátima was Really going, and then "Pedro" and Aline got upset again but I saw through it this time. Pedro told me that when I supported her decision to go he got really really mad at me. Good times. Theyºre a great family (and Fátima hates France anyway).

Anyways, Iºve gone way over time. I gotta go, but I love you all and I will give you more information later. Thereºs more, but I simply donºt have the time. Iºm so excited to work here! (although the day of relaxation is NICE.) Go read 1 Nephi 19. Or something. Until next time!

-Elder José, er, Carson Marsh

Testing My Strength 02-28-08

2008-03-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

what a move on I had! My companion and Elder Shaffer, my new District Leader, decided to stay there since they were both staying, and have myself and Elder Jacobe, their new respective companions, be companions and meet them up there. Seems like a good idea, no? Except for the fact that we both had to carry all of our own luggage to the End proved a lot, so Iºm not worried about it. Vanessa and the rest are doing great (although it was funny to see Vanessa and Ângelo shamlessly flirt while we were trying to teach Vanessa. If youºve ever read Calvin and Hobbes, think Calvin and Susie and youºre pretty close.) In short, I feel that I can leave the Foz and be happy with the progress thFinally! I am outta there! I mean, I really love the Foz area, but it was time for me to move on. Elder Long has it covered, and everyone says that his Portuguese has imI am now in Viana do Castelo. It is basically the northwest End of the World, AKA the nortwest corner of the mission (and the country! I may be sending home a few pictures of Spain across the river) and I LOVE it. It is a BEAUTIFUL city. It is really small comparatively, which I like. The people, as a result, seem a bit humbler than the Fozians, which should result in some great progress here in the area. And it already has. But first to my moving on.

And at was made there.

of the World. I used an exercise band to tie my suitcases together. Iºm still not sure that the piano survived the trip, but I think that it did. Needless to say, we both got our exercises in for the day.

So my companion. It appears that I will never have that Experienced Missionary Iºd been hoping for. Elder Tidwell just finished being trained (2 transfers), and Viana do Castelo is his first area. But his Portuguese is already quite good. With the current rate of improvement of missionaries these days, Iºm going to look like a fool speaking my version of Portuguese to them. But since he is still young in the mission, I still have a thing or two to teach him. And he me, Iºm sure. Weºve already had a great lesson with a member present, as well as a nice discussion with a former missionary of a religion called The Family (mom, wanna look that up for me?) He seemed to like us and our ideas, but he was just there and talked to us, so he wonºt be an investigator or anything, but maybe heºll see the missionaries in Spain and talk to them.

We have a great branch here and Iºm really excited to work with everyone. I donºt have any time, so Iºll close by writing down my address here in Viana. Iºll probably be here for a while, so feel free to use this address at will. Love to all and let your light shine forth! And write me. I love letters!

Elder Carson the Amazing Marsh
Avenida Rocha Páris
Nº 79 2º Esq. Frente
4900-053 Viana do Castelo
PORTUGAL.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

Sometimes doing less is doing more 02-14-08

2008-02-14T12:07:00.001-05:00

Hi!

Itºs really weird to think that the transfer is almost over. Next week we have our interviews with the president, at which Iºll probably find out what is happening to me, and then thatºs it! Whoa.

So, the updates.
Elder Long is doing a lot better with Portuguese. Iºll admit, I was getting to the point where I didnºt think that it was going to happen. But I learned the secret. I just have to let things happen sometimes, even if some random guy on the street ends up ignoring us because I donºt say anything. Many times what would happen is that Elder Long would start a contact, and then the guy wouldnºt understand him so I would say something so that he wouldnºt brush us off, and then Elder Long just stopped so I would end up talking the whole time. But, then when I finally learned to stop doing that, things improved. And it was a lot harder than just a single conscious decision, Iºll have you know. At the beginning, I was encouraged to talk as much as I possibly could since I was a greenie and with natives. I got to the point that I was talking almost as much as my companions. So then when Elder Long arrived, I figured that all that we had to do is speak together and then I could take over when I wanted to. But there just isnºt any replacement for talking with natives. No matter how good my grammar or vocab is, it is different than the way the Portuguese speak. Although I have been confused with a Portuguese twice these last few weeks. That was all sorts of cool, although I think it was more because I was wearing a Portuguese suit than anything. So he just needs his own experience is what I suppose Iºm getting at, and now that Iºm letting him have it, he improves. It gives me an opportunity to be lazy, right?

We also have two investigators. Yay! Elder Long got one whilst I was in Leça on division, so I havenºt met them yet. The otherºs name is Zé, who is this guy who always hangs out with his girlfriend in the same place every day, so we go talk to him. He has a lot of questions about life, the universe and everything, but he almost always says that our answers make sense and that he thinks that he believes us, but he hasnºt been able to read the Book of Mormon because it has too much religious terminology that he doesnºt understand, so weºre going to go read with him on our next appointment. So I ended up teaching him the first lesson, and then his girlfriend and these three other guys started asking me lots of annoying questions like “You mean you canºt touch women for two years!” and “Want to smoke with us?” so I was about to leave until I noticed that Elder Long was teaching him the second lesson. So I tolerated the annoying questions until the other three left, and then I started talking to the girl. She isnºt nearly as interested as her boyfriend, but I think she likes us and thinks that we are making some sense. She just doesnºt quite pay enough attention. I think that once we get Zé excited about it, Vánia (girlfriend) will follow suit. Huzzah.

Alda should be coming to church this next week if we go get her. Which just means that Ângelo has to get there by himself. I wish we could just go pick everyone up in a car so that they could ALL be picked up by the missionaries, but unfortunately, there are just some things that canºt be done. So they have to decide if itºs worth going without us there to remind them.

Vanessa and family showed up again, but itºs going to be hard for them to come to this next thing since itºs Stake Conference and not in the building thatºs like a five minute walk from home. Iºm still trying to get that one figured out.

Well, Iºm all kinds of breaking the rules, so I should go now, but know that Iºm thinking about all of you. And Happy Valentineºs Day!

-Élder Carson Marsh

Three weeks left and away we go 02-07-08

2008-02-10T19:56:00.000-05:00

So… this week has been interesting. Iºm not quite sure what to make of it yet. For starters, we almost sort of have an investigator, and he almost sort of has a baptismal date. But then he didnºt come to church or do anything, so it seems to have been empty wording, but weºre going over there today so weºll see whatºs up. I knew that it wasnºt going to be cake from the get go. He had investigated the church before (his name is Ervim, by the way) and he just got caught up with work. And by the way, that work is as a bartender. Woo. Hoo. But heºs all weºve got, and Iºll give him all weºve got.
However, the less active reactivation is going along marvellously. Despite the fact that it was raining a ton, Irmã Vera and Pedro came to church, along with a new lady and her kid, Justineia and Beatriz, repectively. I really think that the strength of the ward, however, will come from the youth. I think that once Vanessa comes back regularly (her mom had the flu for a long while, so she was stuck at home, and we actually ended up giving her a blessing) and Angelo also returns, things will work well between the three of them. Apparently Vitor Vielaºs daughter also attended a youth activity. There may be hope for that family yet!

I am learning a lot about teaching from Elder Long. He has problems with headaches which make concentrating difficult, but we have made a companionship study plan and I have found that it works a lot better when you show your companion that you are willing to do and cooperate on the same things. It is very important to continue to help even when it gets hard with health problems and such. Keep it pushing. He deserves to have the benefit of getting the band-aid ripped off as much as I do, as I am now enjoying its results. I imagine that Devinºs band-aid is looking ready to rip as well. Itºs a good experience, man. Donºt let it slip, as many here in Portugal do.

I had so much to say, and yet I find myself with little time. The funeral for President Hinckley was a shock to the system for me. I realized how much I love the plan of salvation. How great is it to know about that stuff, and how painful it must be for those unaware of its importance! I am so grateful for my family and just want them each to know how much I really do love them, despite how I may act. Weºll all be together for always, and thatºs the most important thing. I wish I had more time to report my progress here, but suffice it to say that I believe that I will be able to leave comfortably knowing that the Foz will be okay. Godºs hand is in it, and He tends not to abandon people, even if us missionaries canºt always see it.

Keep on pushing, everyone.

Elder Carson Marsh

Emotionless and Full of Emotion 01-31-08

2008-01-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

So, this has been a different sort of week. I probably wonÂºt be able to say everything that I want to, but here goes.

One of the greatest men in the world died this week. It is strange to think that we donÂºt have a living Head of the Church of God like we always say we do. I know that it is temporary, but still--he lived and died great, and he, along with all the others, IÂºm sure will be gathered up with his loved ones. It must have been a bummer for Abel to die since he was the first one--he didnÂºt have anyone to see. The strangest part is, it didnÂºt affect me for nearly as long as I thought that it would. The work went on. Which is exactly how IÂºm sure that he wants it. The greatest part about the greatest of men is that they are a part of something bigger, and so donÂºt want us to have to dwell on them forever when theyÂºre gone. They die great, and in remembering just their good traits we can continue on and do just what theyÂºd want us to do. Let the flow flow on!

I gave my first health related blessing yesterday. It was very strange--everything that I said was so simple, and such standard stuff, but then afterwards the girl, she was IrmÃ£ VeraÂ´s daughter who hasnÂºt been to church in forever, said that I had given her a lot of things to think about. Sometimes thatÂºs just how God talks to His children--by giving them exactly what they need to hear, even if it is simple and theyÂºve heard it a million times. Our Zone Conference was on Faith, for instance, but it energized me and made me want to do more. We hear about increasing our faith all of the time, but with our experiences we become ready to receive more light and more knowledge which we can then go back to apply and the process starts up again. ItÂºs great and I love it.

IÂºve noticed this last week how much obedience can bring peace in our lives. I think I touched on that last week. When we just choose to obey, no matter what it is that is asked of us, we trust in God and are at peace, and then everything ends up okay. Strange, but I think you just have to try it.

So after Zone conference we went to meet with this guy. He was a former investigator who also happens to be a bartender. We talked to him, and because of what I had been told, I just blurted out a baptism invitation and he accepted. I donÂºt think he knows yet what heÂºs getting himself into, but he will with time. Probably longer time than I have in the Foz, but IÂºm glad that IÂºll be able to leave it running smoothly.

Which is why I have to drill Portuguese into my companionÂºs head. ItÂºs funny, cuz heÂºs the oldest companion that I have had so far, but IÂºve never felt more in charge than I do right now. Which isnÂºt to say that IÂºm having a power rush, but that I feel a lot of responsibility on my head. I need to balance between having my companion as a friend and as my student, and I think that IÂºm putting too much of the weight on the former, which is good now but wonÂºt be in the future, so IÂºm trying to concentrate with him on the Portuguese. Luckily he wants to learn so I should be able to use that desire to our advantage.

IÂºm being disobedient by continuing to type cuz IÂºm out of time. However, I just want to end by updating on the FamÃlia Mendes. Ã‚ngelo has come to church twice in a row now and I think weÂºre going to be able to get his sister to go this week as well. The youth of this ward will be a great foundation to work from, even if it does take time. Strengthen your youth, wherever you are. ItÂºs amazing to see how much power a teenaged kid has in this country.

Venha o que vier,

Elder Carson Marsh

My language has been reconfounded 01-24-08

2008-01-24T11:02:00.001-05:00

Okay, I had a hard time coming up with a creative title today. But IÂºve got no time, and IÂºm sure youÂºll all live. Okay, so I have about 5 minutes to write this email, so I hope that youÂºll all enjoy it. If anyone manages to get a message out to Ellen or Caroline, let them know that theyÂºre getting a letter from me. TheyÂºll probably think that itÂºs the most random thing ever, but thatÂºs okay.

Okay, so news.

Being with an american companion is incredibly strange to me. My english is terrible now, so I make all kinds of mistakes. But IÂºm trying really hard to keep up the Portuguese with him, because he really wants to learn it. He says that a lot of people wonÂºt listen to him or make fun of him because he canÂºt speak the language, while on the other hand every person who has listened to me speak has praised my mastery of the language. It really makes me reflect on how blessed I am and how silly I was to complain about it in the beginning. But IÂºm determined to teach him this language, and luckily he has the desire to learn it, so I think that weÂºll be okay. HeÂºs a cool guy, but itÂºs definitely an adjustment from Elder Nhancale.

Anyways, so as soon as Elder Nhancale left we started to have a bit of success. Sad, I know. Three less active members came to Church this Sunday, including Pedro Castro, the English speaking guy, IrmÃ£ Vera, about whom IÂºm always talking, and this new kid Ã‚ngelo who comes from the Mendes family. HeÂºs fifteen, and he likes coming despite the fact that his cousin makes fun of him for it. I think his brother should also be coming next week, who is seventeen years old. Ã‚ngelo is also going to a Stake activity tomorrow. Huzzah. IÂºm starting to think that the youth is the place at which we need to start and build our base. We also have some old investigators with whom weÂºre meeting again. Some turned out wellâ€”others not. I want you all to keep a lady named Iraci in your prayers. She wanted to meet with us, but then I got a threatening email and an annoying phone conversation from her husband telling us not to stop by. I think I heard her crying in the background. Anyways, itÂºs sad, but unfortunately, thereÂºs not much we can do. However, I trust that the Lord is in it, and heÂºll take care of her, even if IÂºm not around to see it happen.Foz has potential, I swear it does. My purpose this transfer, though, is to prepare Elder Long to take over once I leave. I want to get him to know the members and speak the language so that he and his companion will be okay here. I really do love the people here.

My spiritual thought (I know itÂºs a short email, sorry) comes from 1 Nephi 8. Notice the parallels at the beginning. You could get a parallel going between LehiÂºs experience in 1 Ne 1 and 8. I also think that thereÂºs a parallel between 8:4-8 and the premortal/mortal existence. It appears that it is Christ, or some heavenly Messenger, who leads us into this life. Think about it.

Sorry for the shortness. I promise something better next week!

-Elder Carson Marsh

Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world 1-17-08

2008-01-17T20:00:00.000-05:00

I donºt have much time, so Iºll just give you the big updates.

Elder Nhancale is gone. He left for Madeira Island yesterday. Cool, huh? I have Elder Long serving with me now, which should be cool. Iºve been missing out on a bit of the American stuff, but Iºm afraid that trying to speak Portuguese with him will be a challenge. Weºll see how I hold up.

My birthday yesterday was awesome. Irmã Vera, the less active lady, made me a cake and gave me socks and her family sang happy birthday to me, which I have recorded on my camera. When I get the chance, Iºll send you all a copy.

A lot of challenges lay ahead of me this transfer. Iºm responsible for directions, keeping up my Portuguese, talking to all of the members, and preparing Elder Long to lead the Foz after Iºm gone, which should be next transfer, if the pattern of 4 transfers and out holds true. But, I know that there is a lot that I can learn this transfer. I should be able to relate to Elder Long in a way that was difficult with Elder Nhancale. Not that we didnºt get along-- the kidºs amazing and Iºm way excited for him to go to Madeira-- but there are just some things that you canºt talk about, you know? So I have a feeling that weºll be in English for the first while to build up companionship unity and whatnot, and then weºll see about the language. Iºm fairly comfortable at this point with the language, so itºs really more about whether he wants to learn or not. However, I know that God takes gifts away from those who donºt use it, so... basically, I havenºt decided exactly what Iºm going to do yet. But weºll figure it out.

My spiritual thought was really good, but I canºt remember the verse. Letºs take a guess. John 16:33, in which Jesus tells his disciples, ye will have trials in the world, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. Iºm trying to improve every day, and Iºm seeing the different ways that the Lord is working me so that I improve in the ways that I want to. I just donºt want to go through the hard times necessary! But itºs okay-- Iºm willing to pass a few hard times to get the reward of being a better person. Anyways, Iºm out of time, but I love you all, and thanks so much for the birthday wishes. It was really a great day! Lots of changes are in store for me, but for some reason, all I can feel is gratitude. And the funny part is, when I reflect on it, I just get more grateful for the gratitude I have. Itºs a cycle, but not the vicious kind. Huzzah. Have a great day, and as you write in your journals tonight, if you keep one, try and write down all of the things youºre grateful for. Of course, I think it works better when the gratitude comes from God, with which I believe that I have been especially blessed today, but we have to prepare ourselves for every blessing that God wants to give to us, so go for it!

Love to all.

-Elder Carson Marsh

Let us lift the hands which hang hopelessly down- President James E Faust 01-10-08

2008-01-10T10:14:00.000-05:00

Email!

Okay, so we are finally getting to the point in our travels (okay, not really travels) that I can include some people in our happy little emails. Of course, it is also the last week of transfers, so I have no idea what that is going to do to us here. We just have to stay diligent, even if one (or both!) of us will leave this week. I think weÂºll both stay put this time, and then Elder Nhancale will leave and then I will leave in April, but you never know. I could be here the rest of my life!

Okay, so cool story. We were hanging out in Aldoar, trying to improve the life of Maria do Carmo Mendes, who, like Irma Alda, has a very sick mother whom she must care for. Luckily, Maria has a brother to help her, so things work out a little better for her, but she still has no time to go to church. Anyways, so we left there and headed for VÃtor Viela, another less active of whom you all may have heard. So he wasnÂºt there. But as we turned to leave, this kid, who I think has to be like six years old, came up to us and said, “You canÂºt go to Block fourteen, can you?” I was like, um, what? in my head I said “Well, I suppose that we could.” Elder Nhancale, expecting him to be on a dare or some kind of joke, said, “What do you want us to do there?” He smiled really big and looked at us and said, “I dunnooooo.” So I said, “Sure, we can go over there later. WhatÂºs your name?” Anyways, so his name was JoÃo, and turns out he has a huge family who will most likely accept us in. They havenÂºt had time the last two days, but IÂºm very hopeful as adding such a huge family to the church (I think they have like 5-7 kids) would really help us out right now, as the ward struggles youth-wise. IÂºd like to take Vanessa with us to help out with relating to them, but I think sheÂºd be too nervous to go. I may ask, though. Other people: These, like JoÃo and family, are all in potential, but IÂºm hopeful for them. The most potential of these is Cristina and family, who is a family with six kids. She doesnÂºt have much time either, but sheÂºs really friendly and seems to like us a lot.

The lesson that I think that I have learned best this week, or that which I am trying to learn from the experiences this week, is Optimism. Optimism is a principle of faith. Without believing that a thing could succeed, there would be no reason to do it, and certainly no reason to be optimistic over it. I notice that many of the members here believe that there is no one ready around them to be taught. Many also look to a person who rejects us and think “They didnÂºt want anything to do with us. They just wanted money” or whatever. And maybe thatÂºs more realistic. But I canÂºt do it. I canÂºt just give up on someone because they arenÂºt accepting us right now. And thatÂºs probably why IÂºm here and not in a more “successful” area. We donÂºt drop people very often, even if they drop us, since we donÂºt have anything else to do. I know that it is necessary. But I choose to believe that everyone can develop these things- that everyone is a son or daughter of God and thus has the same potential- if we as missionaries and members help to plant and nourish it- to turn their lives towards Christ. Heck, there are many times when I need to turn my life more towards Christ, that being all the time. ThatÂºs part of what IÂºve been discovering lately with the Book of Mormon reading, my Lectures on Faith (it used to be part of the Doctrine and Covenants, so I donÂºt feel bad reading it.) and my experiences have taught me that what I need to be doing is turning myself more and more towards Christ, so that one day I can be like Him. And even he turned away from people when they didnÂºt accept Him. But He never stopped loving them. Nor can we.

And thus I love you all. I want to hear from each one of you as soon as you can, by letters, emails, or however you can. I know that the email isnÂºt that long today, but I feel like IÂºve said what I need to. It fairly sums up the week. Next week is transfers and my President interview, so IÂºll have more to write next week.My spiritual thought comes from a verse in Mosiah 4. If itÂºs not verse 12, itÂºs close. It says something along the lines of: "Belive in God. Believe that he is and that he loves his children." After all is said and done, we have to, at some degree, just believe. Do we believe in Him? Do we believe in ourselves as children of God? Do we believe in our past experiences in which weÂºve known that it was all true? If not, why?

Anyways, I feel like IÂºm getting in over my head here so IÂºll close. Love to all, and until next week!

Venha o que vier,
-Elder Carson LezÃria

Who would have thought that the Seven Seals would be on Envelopes? 01-03-08

2008-01-03T23:35:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! This email will have to be kind of short because I have already spent a bit of time with the rest of the emails. Haha, Microsoft Word is trying to make me write in Portuguese.

Anyways…

So this week has gone from alright to pretty good. I guess God decided to give the stupid missionary a break. So a story.

I had planned, which I believe that I have said a few times that I had planned on finishing the Book of Mormon by the end of the year in Portuguese. I also fasted on New Years Eve, all of this with the plan of renewing my testimony of everything, as I like to do sometimes. Anyways, so then I learn that Iºm going on division and that thereºs a big dinner where Iºm going, which I had to make awkward by saying that Iºm fasting. Fun. Anyways, so I did finish—it had to be at the membersº house because it was getting late. Iºd felt something a little as I was reading but not quite as strong as I had hoped.
So then we get back and Iºm like, Okay, Iºm ready to pray and get my answer, as I had been able to do before, and I got… nothing. Sad, yeah? So then I was sick that night because I hadnºt eaten (Iºm okay now, donºt worry) and as a result didnºt sleep too well. So the next morning I was kind of bummed when I arrived back in Foz and checked my mail, and discovered that there were not one, not two, but seven letters waiting in the mailbox for me. Thatºs a mission record! So I gathered them all up and started reading. Alecºs was about the piano and such and helped me with the fact that I still get nervous playing sometimes, but everyone does. Then I got Christmas Cards from Jamie and Dad (finally got #1 of 2, by the way. I think that perhaps it was delayed for this very reason) showing me good thoughts like the fact that baby Jesus and the angels watch over us. The fourth was from Colleen Pratt, and it was also a great source of support for me. But the other three were the kickers. Sarahºs letter quoted Ether 12:6, telling me that I had to wait for Godºs due time to show me the witness Iºd been looking for. She didnºt know my problem, but just that little bit helped me remember to cheer up. And then there were the letters from Mom and Mike Dabell. Both of them, without any knowledge of what it was that I was doing, quoted the same scripture in Mark 5:36, which reads, “Do not fear, only believe.” I then read in D&C 6 when the Lord told Oliver about his witness that he had already received, which was very similar to mine that I received about six months ago. Anyways, long story short, I will wait for the Lordºs time. I will not fear. I will believe.

The work has started up again, and we have four appointments with potential investigators for the next week. The Lord is blessing us in the New Year as we strive to better ourselves. Itºs good because my teaching skills had really laxed with lack of practice, but now that I can at least get in to see Vanessa, Iºm happy. That girl is like a third sister to me, I swear sheºs amazing in ways she doesnºt even know. But maybe thatºs how it works.

I should get going. My spiritual thought is simply a reiteration of D&C 6 and Mark 5:36. Just believe.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh

P.S. If you donºt know what venha o que vier is, it means Come what may in Portuguese. Cool, huh?

Scribblings of a madman/Hopeful thoughts of a Missionary 12-27-07

2007-12-27T10:10:00.000-05:00

Hey team.

Not much has happened recently as I just talked to the family Tuesday. We delivered almost all of the presents out to the recipients, with a letter from either myself or Elder Nhancale wishing feliz natal and the like. So, basically what Iºm going to do this week is translate two or three of the letters that I wrote and type them here. After that, there are a few options. I could send them all home and have Julie translate them, or I could continue to type them here, in English or Portuguese. Your call. Anyways, here we go!

Irmãe Vera,

[Note: Irmã means sister and mãe means mother. All of the missionaries call irmã Vera Irmãe.]

I didnºt let Elder Nhancale write this letter because I wanted to write it to you personally. I hope that you forgive me for the grammatical errors that I will commit.

Now that Christmas is near, as always, I think on the year that I have had. Since the month of July 2007, the year has been filled with my mission. I remember also that the first person that I met was Irmã Vera. You were very nice toward me in my first days on the mission in general and with my Portuguese. I am very grateful for this help that you offered me.

However, through all of the visits that I had with you, the most spiritual for me was very recent, when we read together the chapter of 3 Nephi 11. I remember that you cried after having read verse 14, [again, this will be a rough translation] “Stand yourselves up and handle the marks in my hands and on my feet, so that ye may know that I am the God of Israel and the God of all the Earth and that I was slain for the sins of the world.” In that moment, more than any other, I knew that you had a testimony of Jesus Christ as our Saviour and King and that this is His church. I think also of verse 17, when the people came to know that he was the Christ: “Hosana! Blessed be the name of the most High God! And they threw themselves at Jesusº feet and worshipped Him.” How great would it have been to be able to do that! But we still can. Every Sunday in which we go to Church, we can worship our Saviour, Jesus Christ Himself. I know that He is, that He lives, and that this is His church. Merry Christmas, irmãe, and thank you for everything!

-Elder Carson Marsh

[Irmã Vera said that that and the toy cat we bought her were the best presents that she had ever receieved.]

Dear Brother Vítor Viela,

Merry Christmas! How are you? All is well here. Did you receive a lot of presents this year? I will receive the best present of all; I will be able to talk with my family for an hour this Christmas! Our loved ones—family and friends—are more important than any other thing that we could receive. And it is by way of Christ, whose birth we celebrate this day, we can live forever with our families!

To have faith in Christ is the first and most important thing that we need to obtain and keep. In that day in your house, I felt the Spirit with us and I know that you felt it too. This tells me that you have faith in Christ, and I know that you know about and have a testimony of this Church. Now, now that you have faith in Christ, it is important to act according to this knowledge, because “…those that have faith in Him will grab hold of all that is good, therefore he pleads the cause of the children of men, and he inhabits the Heavens eternally.” (Moroni 7:28). One of these things that is good is to go to Church to be edified. I know that it isnºt easy, but I know also that it is worth it. It is what Jesus Christ, our Brother and Saviour, wants us to do. I know that you have the power, with the help of God, to be a powerful man of God. And the following is the way to achieve it: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, ask the Father, with all of the energy of your hearts, that ye may be filled with that love that He giveth unto all the children of God; so that when He cometh, we may be even as He is, so that we may have this hope, that we may be purified, as He is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:48). I know that you can do it, Brother Vítor. Have a great Christmas and happiness forever.

-Elder Carson Marsh

So there you have it. Iºm way out of time, but I hope that you all had a great Christmas, and I hope that you all have a great new year.

-Élder Carrinho Lezíria

Pictures from Portugal 12-27-07

2007-12-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2007—Porto Portugal Mission (Carson is on the bottom row 4th from the right.)

Left, yours truly, Vanessa in her baptismal clothes, (Former) Bishop Reis who performed the baptism, Elder Nhancale

Assistant to the President Elder McKinney (who went home three weeks ago) and member Augusto Pinto. There were a lot of missionaries and members alike at this baptism, and Iºm sure that I knew more people there than Vanessa did!

Cassandra Cardoso Silva, six year old sister of Vanessa. Her father is a Jehovahºs witness and does not allow her to come to church very often, but she was able to go to the baptism, which was cool. She seemed so relieved to finally be able to be here.

I... donºt know who this girl is. Sheºs a friend of Cassandraºs. Iºll call her Jane, for lack of a better name.

I donºt know if this is Gonsalo or Miguel, but since I like Miguel better and since heºs usually the one holding the Spiderman toy, Iºll assume that this is he. One of Vanessaºs "gémio" (twin) brothers. Notice the similarity to Gemini?

Cassandra, Miguel and "Jane"

Okay, you know who all of these people are now. I had to position myself rather awkwardly to get in the picture. I assume that the twin on the right is Miguel and the left is Gonsalo.

Ruben on the left is a member that I met during our first zone conference in September. He lives in the Porto area but was here from the baptism. I donºt want him too close to Vanessa-- sheºs like my sister now. ;) But heºs cool, and he wants to serve a mission someday.

Iºm blurry. My smile looks twice as big as it should be.

Okay, hereºs probably the best of the pictures. Ready? Go. Left: Ricardo "Bocas" (Mouths) Reis. He talks a lot, and is eight years old, and runs around all over the place. 2. Holding him is the Primary President, and I believe Sister Franco, the Bishopºs wife. 3. Brother Cunha, the shortest First Counselor to the bishopric Iºve ever met. Heºs really cool, but not the easiest person to understand. 4. Iºm standing behind 5. Vanessa. 6. Elder Nhancale. 7. Bishop Franco standing behind 8. Jane. 9. Maria João, Vanessaºs mother, the woman who started all of this. Sheºs an amazing lady, and she was my secret Santa too. mmm, candy. 10. Cassandra.

Blurrrrrrry.

And after he saw that he was mute, he ran around asking his companion for food 12-20-07

2007-12-20T20:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Iºm going to write this on Microsoft Word to try and avoid any unfortunate events. Before I start, though, I must ask, what happened this week? It seems like everyone was too tired to send an email or anything. I understand that Lauren (Marsh) never writes me, but I also got nothing from Mom, Dad, Sarah, or the missionaries, or any of the BYU girls. Well, I suppose the BYU girls have an excuse since they have finals and thus have more important things to do. And, I suppose that the missionaries also need to prepare for Christmas, and I know that some of them canºt email this week because of that. But how about my family? Whereºs the excuse? I did get an email from Uncle Mike and Auntie Annette, so that was nice, as was the email from the Johnsons.
[NOTE FROM DAD: Everyone in the family wrote to Carson this week, but his email doesn't seem to be working. We have not abandoned our favorite missionary.]

I did just barely receive a few letters, to which I shall respond. I just got Laurenºs (not my sister) two letters and one from Jamie and a Christmas Card from my dad (although it said card two of two, and I never got card one of two) but Iºll wait to respond to Dadºs letters or whatever until I get the package that apparently has cool stuff (according to Sarah) and probably cost way too much. Thank you in advance.

So, Christmas in five days. Huzzah. Hereºs the plan, as of now. Somewhere between five and seven PM my time (noon and 2 PM Pittsburgh time) I shalt be calling. However, I canºt call from the cellphone cuz the mission presidentºs wife doesnºt trust parents, apparently. So I have to find another way to call. I will probably check my email that day as well to make sure that noon to 2pm is okay, so if that doesnºt work or if there is a best time within that time, let me know and I will do my best to oblige. I can only talk for 45 minutes to an hour, so donºt get any ideas of huge elongated, almost awkward phone conversations. However, Iºm way excited to talk to you all. It has been too long.

Zé Maria didnºt really want anything from us. Back to the drawing board. The unfortunate thing is that this Tuesday, I got sick, during the Christmas Party. Actually I think it was more the day before because it was so cold in the chapel during district meeting, but it got worse on Tuesday because of the cold and the rain, and because of some other things but I wonºt go into too much detail. But anyways, I had a fever. It was only 101.5, so it wasnºt too bad, but it was enough that I had to go to bed an hour or so earlier than we were supposed to and sweat it out. I was really blessed though, cuz when I woke up the next morning, the fever was completely broken. Now Iºve just got a cold. The only bad part about that is that my voice is almost completely gone. This makes missionary work slightly less than easy, especially with my already broken Portuguese. When I was really sick, however, my companion really came through. He went out into the cold of the kitchen (we have one warm room in the house—our bedroom) and made me some soup. I like soup. He is also just about the epitome of humility. He never gets contact from his parents, and thus never gets half of the things that I get. I let him use what I have, but itºs not the same as getting a nice gift from your parents, you know? So he gets this big package that the mission presidentºs son in Brazil sends him with long underwear and socks and lots of candy, and he is so grateful, like more than I usually am (I have to work on that) and the first thing he does is he gives me a pair of his new socks and packs a bunch of his candy to take to Irmã Alda (remember her? Sheºs doing a little bit better, but still keep her in your prayers.) and part of me thought, "wait, what? You got the first thing youºve gotten in the entirety of your mission, and the first thing that you do with it is get rid of it?" But then of course, thatºs Christmas, isnºt it? Anyways, so back to my voice--Iºm slightly less than useful these days in terms of missionary work, but I try. I donºt think it should be a problem for Tuesday, according to Irmã Henry, so we should still be good to talk then.

Iºm really happy for Nate and the success that he is having. However, Iºm almost happier for missionaries like Devin and Riley, for I know that it is through the hard things that we have to deal with that we can become the men that God had planned for us all along.

We got a mission CD with a few songs on it this Tuesday, sung by some of the Elders and Irmãs in our mission. Some of these guys and gals have so much talent. But then above them all is Elder Kelley. The man is a musical Genius. So he wrote a song, which he also played, sung, and recorded for this little album, and itºs my favorite of them all. Iºll leave you all with the chorus of that song, because it describes pretty well my feelings these days. Seriously. Iºm going to practice a lot so that one day maybe I can be that good, or half that good. I may send the CD home so that you all can hear it. As for my singing voice, well, maybe thereºs no hope of reaching Kelleyºs talent, but weºll see.
Anyways, so here goes.

And all my children get lost sometimes
They pray for the truth but theyºre closing their eyes!
And they walk through the valley of shadow and pain
But when they get lost I still love them the same
And when they get lost I still love them the same.

Feliz Natal, everyone.
-Elder Carson Marsh

Why are you a good man? 12-13-07

2007-12-13T08:38:00.001-05:00

Okay, so to start off. First, since I havenÂºt received anything recently from the Johnsons or Pete, IÂºm putting it on you all to tell me how theyÂºre doing. Second, as an answer to DadÂºs question, the language is going pretty well. I forgot to say a month ago when it started happening. I have dreams in Portuguese! Sometimes. And usually itÂºs not all in Portuguese--like when my companion is with me and IÂºm with a bunch of English speakers and IÂºll translate for my companion, and then heÂºll talk to me and IÂºll translate back to English--things like that. Nothing huge, but itÂºs still kinda cool to think about. However, oftentimes I do find myself at a bit of a disadvantage language wise, not in that I canÂºt respond to their questions, but that I have to think a lot harder and take longer to do so. I still think faster in English, and so whenever we get into difficult questions that make me think in a way that IÂºm not used to thinking in Portuguese, I have to switch my mind over and start thinking in English and then translating what it is into Portuguese. It doesnÂºt take a really long time, but it is noticeable and sometimes people get impatient with me. One of these people is our investigator Maria JoÃ£o, who basically told my companion that she doesnÂºt want our help, but that sheÂºll keep coming to church and reading on her own. I suppose she thinks that she can learn better that way, but it was sort of a humbling and saddening experience for me, telling me that I really have to work at this to be able to answer questions as they come, so that when Elder Nhancale doesnÂºt have the answer that theyÂºre looking for, I can step in. I mean, she was asking some ridiculous questions, but still we didnÂºt explain what she wanted how she wanted it, and I think that that is in part my lack of teaching abilities. And spelling abilities.

We do, however, have another investigator (yay!!) His name is ZÃ© Maria and heÂºs accepting the gospel pretty well. He has a wife and kid, but they didnÂºt want to come to the first lesson (granted the kid was like, 2) but we invited him to invite them to the next lesson, which should be tomorrow. Teaching him will hopefully help me to be better at my teaching. Oh, and I apologize if any of the sentences that I say donÂºt exactly make entire sense. I donÂºt speak English much, you know. Sometimes I find myself looking for a phrase in English to say and not being able to remember it. But thatÂºs not a completely bad thing.

I kind of know how Devin feels with his last email. Granted, the investigators that we had previously had hadnÂºt accepted the invitation to be baptized, but we were working really hard, contacting people, actually having success, and then it all died. But he is right, and IÂºve found the same thing here. It must go on, and God will provide for his servants. After the trial of our patience, we will have success once again. IÂºm about halfway through the BoM in Portuguese now at Alma 40. That means that IÂºll have to read about 7 chapters a day to finish by the end of the year. But it will happen. Just yÂºall wait.

I love my mommy. I just thought IÂºd throw that in. Not that I donÂºt love everyone else in my family, nor all of my friends, but this week I learned a special appreciation for loving mothers. And hereÂºs why: The only other new person I have to talk about as of late is IrmÃ£ Alda. Well, sheÂºs not new, but IÂºd never seen her before. Seeing her is difficult. She spends basically all day taking care of her mother, every day, and has to rely on the money that she gets from her dead husband and dead father to buy everything cuz she canÂºt work cuz sheÂºs always at home. The mother basically canÂºt do anything. It was hard to watch, but it also showed how great love a person can have for his or her mother, because of all that was done for that person in the past by said mother. And IÂºll talk about that a bit more later. But what I did notice is that I found myself thinking IÂºm not going to be too upset, or rather, upset at all, when that lady dies. And why? This time itÂºs not because IÂºm heartless, I think, but rather because I know that afterwards, all of her pains and sufferings will be taken from her. She will be able to sing praises to God in the next life, and her daughter will be able to both know that and continue on, preparing her own self for the day in which she will meet God. But perhaps it is a bit heartless of me. Who knows?

Anyways, so my thought today comes from a random thing that my companion said to me (in Portuguese of course) that got me thinking. I was going to go eat dinner just before going to bed (that happens sometimes) and Elder Nhancale, who was already in bed reading, said,
“I have a question.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Why are you a good man?”
“Uhm, what?”
“You donÂºt have to answer right now, but think about it. And I donÂºt want you to call me a good man, because IÂºm not; you are.”

So I was thinking about that. I personally donÂºt consider myself a great person, certainly no better than the next guy. I usually consider myself worse, but perhaps that is because IÂºm fully (or at least moreso) aware of my own sins and weaknesses and not those of others. But apparently someone out there does, so I thought about it. As I did, a scripture almost immediately came to mind, and it could quite possibly be the most read scripture ever by members of the church (cuz we give up easily). It is 1 Ne 1:1, the very first verse in the Book of Mormon. I donÂºt have it with me, but it reads something like “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I have been taught somewhat in the language and learning of my fathers” and I think thatÂºs where IÂºve found my answer. I still donÂºt think that IÂºm a better person than any other, certainly nothing noteworthy, but I think that what I do have comes from that source. I have the knowledge and learning, or rather, the testimony and good attributes, that I have because I too have been born of goodly parents. My spirit has been born of my Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. I have the added advantage of being born on earth of James and Jennifer (gasp, I used their first names!) Marsh, two people incredibly strong in the gospel with a love of their God. And finally, when I was baptized, I was born of Christ and of the Spirit. Given all of that, IÂºd say I had pretty good odds coming in, wouldnÂºt you?

That being said, I want to talk just a bit about humility, and what IÂºve learned about it. Humility isnÂºt in denying that we have good gifts or have done good things. It isnÂºt just saying, “Oh, IÂºm not really that good’ just to have people tell them once again, “Oh, but you are!” ThatÂºs compliment fishing, which is something IÂºm probably more guilty of than any other person on this Earth. What we need to do is acknowledge that we have talents, that we have done good things, but it is through our parents--heavenly, earthly, and spiritually--that give us the ability to be who we are. Thus, it is also humility not to act according to our own selfishness--something IÂºm also quite guilty of--but rather to act according to the desires of those who have given us what we have. Honor thy father and thy mother, as they say. Or rather, as He says.

Okay, well I think thatÂºs it for now. I hope to have more mission related news next time. Enjoy the Christmas season, and play Christmas songs all the day long! (I canÂºt cuz I donÂºt have enough Christmas songs for them to not get old)

Venha o que vier,
-Elder Carson Marsh

Good, Better, Best -- Elder Dallin H. Oaks 12-06-2007

2007-12-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I really donºt have much to report this week. It was a pretty hard week for me, mostly for the reason that not much happened, so we had to go around trying to Make something happen. But it taught me a lot, which is what Iºm going to share with you all today.

First off, however, Eleishaºs a punk for telling me that she had big news and then proceeding not to share it. Unless itºs coming in a letter, in which case I apologize. ;)

Second off, I will be remaining here in Foz, with the same address as always, for another transfer, most likely two, which will be until late February.

Oh, and third off, I havenºt heard from the Johnsons in forever. Did they die?

So this week in district meeting we were supposed to share something that we learned during this transfer, since it was to be the last district meeting of said transfer. Every single member of the district, with the exception of myself, spoke on the need for patience. I talked about prayer, but it got me thinking: What does it mean to be patient? In Preach My Gospel, the descriptions of patience and hope are pretty much the same thing; in fact, if Iºm not mistake hope is mentioned in the patience section and vice versa. I agree that patience has a lot to do with having hope that something better will happen in the future, and that we need to be hopeful and not discouraged when things donºt happen as we want. As it says in Mosiah 23:20-21 (sorry this will be a rough translation as I only have Portuguese) "And it came to pass that they multiplied and prospered greatly in the land of Helam... nevertheless, the Lord judges it expedient to punish his people; yes, he tries their patience and their faith." which basically says that bad things sometimes happen to us not because of what weºve done wrong, but to strengthen our patience and our faith. But I also think that thereºs an aspect of patience that deals with what we do rather than just how we react to the things that happen to us. I was thinking about this as I was reading in the Ensign in Elder Oaks's talk on choosing better over good. Oftentimes, we (and by we I suppose I mean I) really want to do something, and we tell ourselves that itºs a good thing, and thus itºs fine to do it, regardless of the better things we could be doing. For instance, I like to read the scriptures and practice my Portuguese whenever possible. These are great things to do, but when I have the opportunity to talk to someone and share the gospel with them, perhaps it is better to do that instead. This requires great patience. I have to say to myself:

Self 1: Self? (By the way Iºm stealing this from Nate White)

Self 2: Yeah?

Self 1: What should you Really be doing right now?

Self 2: Oh, probably talking to that lady over there.

Self 1: Go. Do. Now!

Self 2: But isnºt reading my scriptures an adequate use of my time?

Self 1: Yes, but you can be doing something Better right Now. Have patience and trust that you will be able to read later.

Self 2: Okay, fine.

Needless to say, Self 1 is cooler than Self 2. But the point is that we need to sometimes put off doing something good now to do something better now, and do something good later when it is the best of things to do. Sometimes, we have to put it off even forever, when we choose to be a missionary over a professional basketball player, or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ over anything else. Sometimes itºs not that clear cut. In my fatherºs line of work, he often has to miss going to church because saving a life takes precedence. But Elder Oaks promised us blessings for always being patient, saying "Not now. I can do that later. This is more important now." In Alma 4:18, we read (again, roughly) "Now, Alma did not concede the office of high priest of the Church, but he reserved for himself the office of high priest; he delivered, however, the judgment-seat to Nephihah." One could argue, "Wait, what? He gave up the power to be a righteous judge over all of the people? Is he insane? Itºs very important to have just rulers and judges, isnºt it?" And it is, which is why Alma made sure to choose "a wise man of the elders of the church" as the judge of the people (Alma 4:16) But he gives his reasoning in the following verse (19), "And he did this so that he could really preach to the people, or rather, to the people of Nephi, the word of God, so that they would remember their duties; and to be able, by the word of God, fight all of the pride and the priestcrafts and all of the contentions that existed among his people, not seeing any other way to reform them, save it be by the force of a great witness against them." Thatºs a long verse, but basically what itºs saying is that Alma gave up something that was good so that he could fulfill all of his duties as high priest to the best of his abilities, being able to actually go out and preach to them. Sometimes thatºs what we have to do, and itºs going to take me a lifetime to do it.

Well, I guess I should relate about the little that is actually going on here, even though it really is a huge thing. One, Vanessa was confirmed this Sunday, giving her the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes I forget how important that is. Iºve been studying it pretty deeply as of late, and realized that the most important thing of all, especially for missionaries, is to be under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes it tells me what to do. But usually not. Usually when I most feel like Iºm most influenced by it is when I see a change of heart of the people to whom I have spoken. Many times, people donºt want to have anything to do with me, but sometimes after talking with them genuinely, openly, and most importantly, with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, they at the very least accept our pamphlet and say that it was a pleasure talking with me. But of course, it wasnºt I that made the conversation worthwhile. Our only investigator of note at the moment is Maria João, who is not the same Maria João that is the mother of Vanessa. Sheºs going through some really difficult times at the moment, as her son is a drug user and basically just comes to her for money. However, I believe that the message of the gospel can help her, and she is looking forward to both our Christmas party and church on Sunday.

My spiritual thought today is in Alma 4:14. I guess you should probably read 11-14, but I like 14 the best. It says, plainly and simply, that the people even before Christºs birth did their best to "conserve such a remission of their sins, being full of great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and liberty over the chains of death." Okay, bad translation, I know, but really, think about it. Donºt we all have that same reason to be full of joy? We are not only going to have this great life to feel close to God, to learn, and to grow, but it doesnºt even end there! Jesus Christ made it possible for all of us to continue on, actually living again after we die. Who else can do that? As you listen to your Christmas songs (as youºd best be doing) think about what that means for you. Wasnºt there a time in your lives when you werenºt sure what was going to happen? Doesnºt that assurance make you smile just a lot on the inside?

Anyways Iºd better get going. I have to read 5 chapters a day if Iºm going to finish the book of Mƒormon in Portuguese by the end of the year. Ahh!

Hope you enjoyed,

-Élder Carson Marsh

Entering at the Gate--11-29-2007

2007-11-29T12:52:00.001-05:00

Okay, lets try this again. The internet ate my email.

So, first off. Transfers come up next week (for mom’s knowledge, these happen every sixth Thursday)
INTERRUPTION: I just read dad’s Dr. Seuss thing. Hil. Arious. You should forward that on to everyone, and it just goes to show you that Sam was a lot more useful than they say in the scriptures. I always said he was shafted. END OF INTERRUPTION.

[Note from Dad—the Dr. Seuss thing called “What if the Book of Mormon had been written by Dr. Seuss?" is included at the end of Carson’s email as per his request.]

Okay, so anyways. I’ll probably end up staying here again, but just in case you should send the letters off elsewhere, AKA mission address:

Elder Carson the Great Marsh
Portugal Porto Mission
Rua de Amália Luazas, Nº 23, Sala 1
4200-052 Porto
PORTUGAL

As I said, I’ll probably stay here since Elder Nhancale has had three more weeks here than I have. I like it here, but I would like to see some more of Portugal. Elder Nhancale says that he just wants us both to stay here, cuz I guess he likes having me around, but I think that the chances of that happening (Huzzah! my internet died but I managed to save it by Copying right beforehand!) And OH YEAH. I remembered what I wanted to say to Sarah in her email. Any music by that Mindy lady that does some of the EFY stuff is really good-- I want more of that. Okay, so. Sorry for the interruptions- I even did it in midsentence. I think the chances of us both hanging around through more than two transfers are not very good, and I’d rather leave than have him leave, cuz when Elder Bybee leaves I don’t know who will lead our district and I’m certainly not ready to do it. We’ll see.

We’ve recently been trying to help the work along by visiting the active members in our ward and sharing with them a few pages from Preach My Gospel. It really is a great book and I really suggest reading it, especially Sarah should. We’d like to get the work moving with the members, getting the missionary spirit back into them. I think it’s a lot more viable now with Vanessa and all.

Speaking of Vanessa, who is probably the reason you all bothered to read this email anyways, she did actually get baptized this Sunday! Yay! (internet eatage numbers three and four) Elder and Sister French, the senior couple that goes to Foz, said that it was the largest attendance they’d ever seen there, despite the fact that a great deal of it was missionaries. I tried to play the piano, failing fairly soundly with the first song, but I actually played the second song, Nearer My God To Thee, perfectly, at least so far as the notes go. Go team! I’m sure I had some help along the way. That day was very spiritually uplifting for me, as I’m sure it was for many. Vanessa was sick, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be baptized. It was funny and kind of cute; she wrote her testimony down on a piece of paper and read from it. Her mother, a recently reactivated lady, also wrote hers down (internet eatage five through ten- this is really frustrating) but she stopped reading it halfway through and just bore her testimony. It was a really good experience for everyone involved. Apparently the internet problem has to do with typing in prohibited words. I think that c.o.o.l is one of them, so I won’t be typing that anymore. Anyways, so that’s the baptism for you. She will be confirmed next Sunday, which I think is a long time, but I suppose the Bishop knows best. Miguel is out. Apparently his parents caught him trying to come to the baptism, and when we called him he said that he can’t meet with us anymore. Sad. Day. Pray for him, will ya?

Uhm, I think I had more to say, but it’s tough when you have to type it ten times. Oh yeah. So we have a lot of investigators in potential now, although we don’t have too many that we’re actually able to teach due to hectic schedules and giving us non-existant addresses. However, our work is paying off. We have a lesson today, two tomorrow, and one Saturday, which means that with weekly planning tomorrow we won’t be able to meet with the members until at least Saturday, but I think it’s worth it. This work will move along, and it will certainly teach me things along the way. I can feel growth happening inside me, even if it’s sometimes more gradual than I’d like. By the way, Lauren (sister) did send me an email, so I don’t have to kill her, although now I’m out of time to reply.

My spiritual thought today will actually come from the Ensign: November Edition with the General Conference stuff. I finally got to read Elder Scott’s talk that LC talked about, and I really liked it, but even more so I like Elder Hales’ talk. For me, the thing that really separates us from other churches is our belief that everyone has the right to talk with our Father in Heaven, and that we can receive revelation from Him even today. If I remember correctly, either elder Hales or Elder Scott spoke something along the following: "You can only live from borrowed light for so long." We all need constant contact with the Holy Ghost and our Father and Heaven to stay strong in this gospel, and it is Christ that makes it all possible. Sing a Christmas hymn for me, and have a great week.

-Elder Carson Marsh

"What if the Book of Mormon had been written by Dr. Seuss?"
Author: Unknown

Nephi: Of goodly parents I was born
I've never drunk, I've never sworn
This is Lehi, he's my dad
Laman, Lemuel, they are bad
And who is this? Why this is Sam
Yes, this is Sam;

Sam: Sam I am

Laman: That Sam I am, that Sam I am
I do not like that Sam I am

Sam: In a tent, my father dwelt

Laman: And it's so hot, I think I'll melt

Lemuel: Our father's brain is out of whack

Laman: Yeah, it's too hot, I'm going back

Lehi: Then go and get the plates my dear

Laman: On second thought, I'm staying here

Nephi: You said you'd leave and go away
Now all you want to do is stay?

Lemuel: That Nephi always gets his way

Laman: Here we are in this damp cave

Sam: We would not be here if you'd behave

Nephi: I will go and I will do
There's the angel, that's my cue
Laban's had too much to drink
Now he'll lose his head, I think

Nephi: Look what I found, a brother from the quorum

Sam: We will take him home, we will call him Zoram

Lemuel: Oh great, another pathetic life form

Laman: Our gold and silver we have spent
I do not like it in this tent

Lemuel: I cannot read the Liahona
I must have drunk too much Corona

Laman: We hate it here, we have no lives

Lehi: Then go back to the city and get some wives

Lehi: A tree, a tree, I see a tree
The fruit is white, the fruit is free
A floating building, could it be?
Why do they laugh and stare at me?

Laman, Lemuel, come and see

Laman: We will not eat your precious fruit

Lemuel: We will not wear a tie and suit

Laman: We will not help you build your boat

Lemuel: We do not think that it will float

Laman: No not this boat, it will not float
Not even in a shallow moat
I do not care what Nephi wrote

Lemuel: We will not eat your fruit I say

Laman: We will not eat it on a tray

Lemuel: And we won't eat it in a tent
Not even if your clothes you rent

Laman: We'd rather have a can of spam
L & L: We will not eat it, Sam I am

Sam: You do not like it, so you say
Try it, try it, and you may
Try it and you may I say

Laman: Sam, if you will let us be,
We will try it, you will see

L&L: Say, we like this fruit of life
Sorry that we caused such strife
You've saved us from an awful jam
Thank you, thank you, Sam I am

Carson's Address

2007-11-28T20:02:00.000-05:00

Carson's Mission Home Address
(Note: send packages here)

Elder Carson Blake Marsh
Portugal Porto Mission
Rua de Amália Luazas, Nº 23, Sala 1
P - 4200-052 Porto
PORTUGAL

Carson's current address:
Elder Carson Blake Marsh
Rua de Cerca
Nº 408 3' dir
4150-201 Porto
PORTUGAL

Email:eldermarsh@myldsmail.net

You can also write to Carson through the dearelder website
www.dearelder.com/Elder_Carson_Marsh

Note: If you wish to write to Carson through the www.dearelder.com website, you do NOT have to register. Just click on the link above, then click on the tab at the top of the page which says "Write Letter". Put your information in the top boxes and Carson's information for the mission home is filled in automatically. Thank you for writing to him--he loves to hear from all of you.

Thanksgiving at the Marsh House--Nov 2007

2007-11-27T22:39:00.001-05:00

Left side of table: Elder Barker, Ty Flitton, Adam Flitton, Sara King, Lyssa Sallay, Dave Sallay, Jennifer Marsh
Right side of table: Lauren Marsh, Phil Chaffin, Tamara Chaffin, Sarah Marsh, Elder Webb

Left side of table: Lauren Marsh, Phil Chaffin, Tamara Chaffin, Elder Web
Right side of table: Jaclyn Dabell, Mike Dabell, Elder Barker, Ty Flitton, Adam Flitton, Sara King

Thanksgiving at the Marsh House in 2007--everything was great except that Carson was not with us.

I wonder if God counts down the days to baptisms like missionaries do... 11-22-2007

2007-11-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

Anyways, so as my subject line says, Iºm counting down some days. Iºm counting three days, at the end of which Vanessa will be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You all probably donºt know how excited that makes me, especially considering what Iºve seen in her starting and ending points. Basically, she didnºt know anything when we started with her, but now she answers questions before theyºre finished, and she just seems more alive than before. Itºs hard to explain, but seeing as I think Iºve gone through the same thing a few times in my life, itºs great to see it manifest so clearly in her. Iºm going to be playing the piano, which Iºm kind of nervous about, because itºs really important for the Spirit to be there and I donºt want to take away from it, but I know that God is around to help me. At any rate, itºs her day, not mine, so keep her in your prayers, if you would. And if you wouldnºt, well, I will be.

Today is Thanksgiving, and we definitely have a lot to be thankful for, Vanessa not being the least of which. Weºre going to have a big dinner today in a few hours, and Iºm excited, cuz Iºm way hungry and Iºll get the chance to be with some other missionaries that I donºt get to see very often. Besides all of you, these guys are my support system (of course, all of this is under God, for heºs the best support system there is) Remember to be thankful.

Hey, family, add me to whatever newsletter Nate and Devin White are on. According to momºs talk, sheºs getting the updates and Iºm not. Not Cool.

Oh, and thanks to Aunt Cindy as well. I love baby pictures, and they all remind me now of the twin three year old brothers of Vanessa. Theyºre adorable, which is a word I will continue to use until someone tells me itºs too unmanly. So there.

Other things. Oh yeah! Okay so this was way cool. So weºd been teaching this lady Ana Rita. She has a lot of kids and a few grandkids, and she was taking our discussions pretty well until one day we lost her. She just never would answer the doorbell, and we passed by all of the time. Then on Sunday it came to my mind that the address that was originally written down on the list for her was different than the one weºd been going to all this time. So, I went down a few houses and told Elder Nhancale I wanted to try that one. He said that he was sure that it was the other one but to go ahead anyway. I figured that the worst thing that could happen is that we had a contacting opportunity, so I tried it out, and she answered. Turns out weºd been wrong the whole time, but the good thing is that a bunch of her kids were there at the time that we went and they got all excited about the gospel. One of the ladies who had already been taught a bit explained a lot about Joseph Smith and everything to them. Anyways, so I donºt know if we would have had this opportunity had we not come at the right time, which we probably wouldnºt have had we not messed up in the first place. Maybe Iºm just justifying our stupidity, or maybe itºs God watching out for us. I canºt say.

Elsa still hasnºt shown more interest. Weºll invite her to the baptism, but my hope with her is diminishing a bit. I really want to talk to her about this gospel, too, cuz she seems like she gets it all. Maybe all that she needs is time.

Okay, I guess last up that I will mention (although there are a few more) is Miguel. I donºt remember exactly what I said about him last time, but his parents donºt like us and they hid his book of mormon from him, and basically he has to make up excuses to come visit us. Normally I wouldnºt condone lying to oneºs parents, but quite honestly Iºm all for what heºs doing. Anyways, hopefully heºll at least be able to come to the baptism, even though he wonºt be able to go to church. He is accepting the lessons pretty well, although he is having a hard time accepting the idea of justice, and not just all mercy. Mom talked a lot about that in the talk she sent me, and Iºve been trying to explain it to him, but itºs tough, especially considering Iºve had the same issue many times. But, I think that heºs just trying to learn, and not questioning whether itºs true. From the Spirit that enters the room when he prays, I really believe that he knows that itºs true. We just have our parental problem to fix. Iºd almost say pray more for him than for Vanessa, as Vanessa is well on her way, and I donºt think anything can stop her now. Excuse me while I find some wood to knock on.

Thanks for the recipies, Mom. I donºt remember what it is that you asked if we had, but we donºt have it, so go ahead and send it! Yay, stuff! I hope to get some more letters out this week, but itºs tough cuz thereºs so much going on. I hope you all enjoy the emails!

Spiritual thought comes from the book of Luke. Chapter 24, verses 13 to 32. Iºve been trying to improve the way in which I teach people, as it seems like itºs all me talking and them listening. Jesus asks a lot of questions when he teaches, and itºs definitely an interactive thing. He also teaches from the scriptures, and if itºs good enough for the Saviour of the world, youºd better believe itºs good enough for me. But the thing that caught me most was the fact that when he had finished teaching them he began to leave, but they stopped him and invited him in, at the end of which he showed them more things and revealed unto them who he really was. Thatºs how it is with us too. We have to be willing to show God that weºre willing to apply the things weºve been taught- charity in this case- before weºll be taught other things. It probably wouldºve been easier for Jesus just to say, Hey, Iºm the Christ, listen to me! But he didnºt, because thatºs not the way people learn. At the end the people note that they had felt a warm feeling when he was talking too. Thatºs what we need to apply. Iºm sure there are more things involved there, but thatºs what I can remember off the top of my head. Itºs hard not having the scriptures in front of you. Anyways, I hope to hear from all soon. I hope I didnºt bore you to death, or at least if I did, I hope Iºm in your wills.

-Elder Carson Marsh

Opposition in all Things--11-15-2007

2007-11-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

Iºm getting really frustrated with this internet. It has erased two emails that I unsuccessfully tried to send to Lauren, and four to you all. I donºt know if Iºll have time now to completely tell everything I wanted to tell, and I apologize to Lauren in advance if she doesnºt get an email from me this week.

So, I will try to relate the events of the past week, but first it has come to my attention by basically everyone in my family telling me that I should talk a little bit more about the everyday parts of my life. Honestly, thereºs not much to tell. My companionºs name is Elder Nhancale, from Maputo, Mozambique. He is trying to learn English, which is funny to listen to, but heºs learning, and Iºm trying to help him. Everyone tells me that my Portuguese is really good, and Iºve finally given up and believed them. Our house is falling apart. The doorknob comes off, the elevator doesnºt work right, and if you use too much power in the house, AKA the washing machine and the desktop cooker thingies, all the power shuts off. But the worst is by far the showers. First, the hot water didnºt exist, and now that it does, the floor oozes out water when the shower is in use, making things difficult. Itºs actually pretty funny, and we should be getting it fixed soon, so no worries.

I am trying to learn how to play the piano and how to cook. The former is coming along, little by little, and I have three or four hymns a week to practice, as I play them for Sacrament meeting. The latter could use some work, as I only have learned one or two dishes so far, but people say they taste good, so Iºm okay with it.

Uhm, what else? We eat a lot of bolos, which are sort of like pastries but not really. The only problem is that theyºre kind of expensive and weºre on a budget. Oh, and about the package, I donºt want you all to spend too much money on me. I appreciate the thought, but really, the only thing I would want is more music, unless you could somehow ship one of those Auntie Anneºs pretzels, still hot, or other of my favorite foods. Food is basically it along with music that I need, although getting letters and packages of any kind is awesome. Pictures are also a personal favorite, but Sarah is covering that. Just donºt spend too much money on me, k?

Ehh... what else? Okay, Iºm out of mundane things, onto the weeks events.
Yesterday was quite possibly the worst day of the mission. I know no one wants to hear that, but hey, life happens. Elsa basically said to us that she really doesnºt want to join any church, that sheºs enjoyed the lessons, but not now. Luckily, we had a member with us, irmão (brother) Silva, and at the end when she said that he asked her if she wanted to see the genealogy room in the chapel (random?) So he showed her around and at the end, she said that while she wasnºt going to join now, perhaps some day. Just goes to show you that there are some things that only members can do, and that everyone has their own right to spiritual revelation as far as preaching the gospel is concerned. So it could have been worse, but losing her was still way rough for me.

But, onto better news, Vanessa is sure she wants to be baptized in 9 days from today. Itºs awesome; I got to be there to see the light of the gospel enter her eyes, despite the fact that sheºs young, and it really feels like we didnºt do anything, but we did, and really it was all the Spirit, but you know. Itºs cool, and Iºm all kinds of excited to have been a part of all of this. Itºs the kind of thing that makes doing this day after day worth it.

So, really what Iºm trying to say, and as the subject line indicates, really, you have to understand what itºs like to be sorrowful to fully understand the joy of bringing someone unto Christ. And I know that I ainºt seen nothing yet, both sides, but Iºm learning, slowly but surely. Basically, weºre losing a good deal of our investigators to some reason or another, but a family has reentered the church and a girl is getting baptized. So, if we have to go through all that again and we get another family, itºs all worth it, and weºll appreciate it that much more. Anyways, Christmas is soon. I promised myself I wonºt start with the christmas songs until December 1st, cuz once I start, I donºt stop till the end of Christmas. Also, the fact that Thanksgiving falls on a p-day is useful; weºll get our thanksgiving dinner after all!

Thatºs all I have to say, but my spiritual thought will come from... Mosiah 5:7-9 about what it means to take upon yourself the name of Christ. Yes, I know that Iºm reading slowly, but give me a break, itºs in Portuguese! Lots of way early Christmas spirit to everyone. Gotta go, seeya!

-Elder Carson Marsh

And just when we thought to turn back... (not a direct quotation)--11/08/2007

2007-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this week has been spectacular. That Vitor guy didnºt end up showing, but he wanted to; he just had to work. Weºll hopefully pass by another time, but as it stands weºve had a lot of work to do, and in a good way.

As of now we have three progressing investigators, one of whom has a date marked for baptism. Yeah, that happened all of a sudden, didnºt it? We also have 3 or 4 new investigators, whom we will hopefully be visiting in the next couple of days, but Iºll be talking about these three primarily.

Okay, number one: Elsa. Iºve probably talked about her before. Sheºs a mother of one child, as far as I can tell, although she always comes to the chapel to receive the lessons. They go really slowly, as she spends half of the lesson asking questions. Iºm beginning to see how it must have been annoying for the Sunday School teachers that were forced to teach me (What, me, asking too many questions? Inconceivable.) Not that sheºs annoying me, per se, honestly I love this kind of thing, but we also really do need to get through this so that we can continue with the lady. Sheºs probably 30ish, give or take, and she has prayed and received an answer to the Book of Mormon... we think. At least, thatºs what she says, and I believe her, but now we have to go about teaching her that it teaches to be baptized into this church, or something like that. But we still have to get through the whole Plan of Salvation, and with someone who could quite possibly be more inquisitive than I am, itºs tough.

Number two is Miguel. I met him as we were on the street. We were walking along and this kid walks up beside us and looks at me and I thought to myself, thatºs it, this kidºs mine. So I talked to him and set up an appointment (I had a hard time thinking of the English word there!) Which didnºt happen, but we set up another and he did show up. We taught him the first lesson, and while he had some doubts (heºs a college student and all- youºll have to forgive him. And explaining evolution was... interesting) But his prayer, although he didnºt really know how to give one, was one of the most powerful prayers Iºve ever heard. It was simple, and I canºt even remember what he said, but I do remember what I felt. So I believe that heºll get his answer. He said in our lesson this morning that he prayed twice about it and got nothing (he actually just went ahead and started in first nephi and read like a fifth of it- heºs almost reading faster than I am) AN ASIDE: Iºm reading the Book of Mormon in Portuguese and I just got to Mosiah. Iºm all kinds of excited about that. Arenºt you? Okay, maybe not. END OF ASIDE The other problem is that his parents are very negative about Mormons. Theyºre very Catholic, and he was very sad about this, but I feel like he wants to be a part of this. He should be coming with us to stake conference this next Sunday. Iºm optimistic about it.

Okay, now number three: Vanessa. Sheºs fourteen years old, and sheºs the daughter of a member who didnºt know sheºd ever been baptised. We showed her her certificate and I think she was a little disappointed- I think she wanted to be baptized again- it happened when she was fourteen herself. Sheºs a single mother of Vanessa and two twin 3 year old boys. Theyºre all sorts of cute. Can I say cute- is that legal? Anyways, so we taught her the first lesson, and Elder Nhancale out of the blue committed her to be baptized, and she accepted. I thought this was a bad decision at first- committing her to something she wasnºt ready for. Sheºs very shy and it seemed like she was only saying yes cuz we asked her. But we saw her again at a relief society thing last night, and she was fitting right in, and the happiest Iºve ever seen the girl (granted, this was only 4 or 5 times) and I really think she does want this. I donºt think that next Saturday will work, but this month? Perhaps. Weºre actually getting members to come help us and everything. Foz is actually starting to become a working area, which means Iºm sure to be transferred this upcoming transfer. Cºest la vie.

Okay, so anyways, it was basically a great week. Oh, so a thing for dad. I want to buy a suit here. I think Iºll do it next week if thatºs alright. Personal money, obviously, not mission money. And I want it to be green. And Portuguese. Iºm excited (yes, thatºs the kind of thing I get to be excited about these days.)

Iºve noticed that I tend to worry too much when things donºt work out exactly as I planned (What, Carson taking himself too seriously? Yeah, okay.) which I guess was because weºve lost two investigators when they just suddenly stopped showing up. But Elsa didnºt show up the other day, and it turns out there was just miscommunication and she thought we meant next Wednesday, which now we do. But I was all sorts of worried. So, thereºs a moment of missionary emotion for you.

Uhm, what else? This one was kind of long, yeah? Sorry about that. Seems like people generally enjoyed the pictures. Sorry it took so long, but I think that thatºs going to be the trend for a while. Weºll see. I guess Iºm out. Hereºs a scripture. Mosiah 16:8. We talk a lot about the Atonement, but sometimes we donºt remember exactly what it is, or at least I donºt. Also see Alma 7:11-15. Each verse there points out a different yet important part of Christºs life and actions. Do try to emulate them wonºt you? I will. See you next week after Iºve failed a few times, and hopefully succeeded in a few others.

Venha o que vier,
Elder Carson Marsh